Melting Ice, Melting Hearts
by ashtonxtaylor
Summary: College AU. Elsa is the smart, driven, studying good-girl. Will all that change when she runs into the fun, partying, frat boy who is Jack Frost? Drama, stress and jealousy. Rated T, but might have to change it to M later. I didn't like how any of the other stories don't resemble a real college experience, so I thought I'd give it a shot! Huge on Jelsa right now!
1. Prologue

My name is Elsa. I'm nineteen years old, have grey-blue eyes, fair blonde hair, pale skin, and a slim figure. When I was fifteen my parents died in a plane crash while traveling to Paris for a business trip, leaving my younger sister Anna and I to experience growing into adulthood on our own.

Anna is three years younger than I am, she's sixteen, and though we may seem similar, we really are quite the opposite. Her warm features, tanner skin, strawberry blonde hair, and wider, curvier frame contrast my seemingly cold traits. Her personality is a contrast from mine as well; she is very outgoing while I am shy and reserved; she enjoys friends, I enjoy homework. I do love her nonetheless, however, and have worked hard the past few years to keep her strong. We don't see each other much more, since I became a college student, but we try to communicate through Skype, FaceTime, and over the phone as much as possible.

I've always been a hard worker, and when our parents passed I had to work even harder for the both of us. My family comes from a long-line of business owners, and I'm next in line to inherit our company. I have until I'm twenty-five until I gain complete ownership of the business (a joint company is holding my position until I'm ready to step in), but 'till then I am attending University. I started school a year-and-a-half ago as a business major with a mathematics minor, and as I'm sure you can imagine, I care very, very seriously about my studies. No parties, no events, few friends in my life, and definitely no romance; however, that all seemed to change when I met Jack Frost.


	2. Chapter 1

It was the first day of the second semester of my sophomore year, right after winter break. My light-brown fur boots crunched the ice beneath my feet as I walked to my first class from my dorm. I smiled at the snow flurries fluttering around me as I approached the University's business building. The door opened and students rushed past me to their next classes, creating a loud and bustling atmosphere as I found the lecture hall I was looking for.

I looked down at the clock on my phone: fifteen minutes early. _Right on time, _I thought to myself as I scanned the faces of the other early students in the room, hoping by slim chance that I would at least know maybe one of them. I didn't, so I took a seat quietly in the back corner of the room and titled my lectures notes, waiting for the professor to arrive.

The class was a differential equations class. For anyone who isn't a math person, the only way I can describe it is like calculus 4 if it existed. Since it was the first day back, it was syllabus day. Our professor was a large old man with a long white beard, and though he looked old he was extremely energetic. His name was Professor North, and he spoke in an Eastern European accent.

He was in the middle of explaining the breakdown of the grading system when the sound of the door bursting open interrupted him. You could feel everyone's eyes move to the back of the lecture hall.

"Glad you could make it, even if you are twenty minutes late," North said, calling out the student.

"I'm not really an early person," a young man's voice replied as he walked down an aisle to find his seat.

_It's eleven o'clock, _I thought, looking up from what I was doodling in the margin of my notebook. There, in the middle of the aisle next to my stood a guy with white hair, pale skin, and ice-blue eyes, wearing a dark-blue pullover with Greek letters across the front, and bone-khaki colored skinny jeans. I felt my eyes widen in approval; he was gorgeous.

I'm pretty sure I stared too long because he caught my gaze, smiled, and ran his hand through his messy hair. When I finally realized that he caught me I snapped my gaze right back down at my notebook and pushed my bangs out of my face, aware of the blush creping over my cheeks, warm with slight embarrassment.

"I'm going to let you all out early, so you have time to choose a three digit number. I will be using this number to make it easier to pass back homework and tests. I have a paper here with your names on it," the professor gestured to a paper on the front desk, "just write your chosen number on it next to your name."

The last twenty minutes of class were a blur. After the syllabus was explained, North began explaining linearity and the difference between ordinary and partial differential equations. At twenty till noon, Professor North allowed us to line up and write down our numbers. I lingered in the back and spaced out, waiting patiently when I noticed the white haired boy no more than three feet away from me.

I looked at his dark-blue pullover. The letters "TZE" were sewn across it, for tau zeta epsilon, representing a fraternity on campus known for throwing wild, large parties. Some of the guys there, I was told, you say were could classy, but most I assumed were like other frat boys I've met: manwhores, alcoholics, and womanizers.

"See something you like?"

I didn't realize I was spacing out, assessing his association with the TZE guys, while staring blatantly at his chest.

"Oh, no, sorry, I.." I began stammering, feeling more blood rush up to my pale cheeks.

He smirked slightly and laughed at me as I quickly turned around to write my number down. I walked quickly back to my seat to grab my belongings, and when I turned back around to leave I realized he had followed me.

"Hey, mind if I walk you to your next class?" he asked.

I felt myself flush again; people don't talk to me very often.

"Um, sure if you'd like," I said as I slung my backpack over my shoulder and gave him a weak smile.

"Where are you headed next?" He moved his hand through his hair again and reached out to hold the lecture hall door for us to exit.

"Thank you, I have economics in the Fairway building."

"Business major?" he asked and I nodded. We walked quietly for a bit, my mind still on the previous classes lecture, as we approached the building.

"Hey, before I leave, what's your number?" he smiled a white smile down at me.

I frowned. Why did he want my homework number?

"Six-hundred six," I said, still confused.

When I looked up at him it looked like he was waiting for something else. That's when I noticed his phone in his hand and mentally slapped myself for being an idiot.

"Did you mean my phone number?" I asked.

He laughed, "yeah, not your homework number."

"Sorry," I said as he handed me his phone and I typed in my name and number.

"Elsa, that's a nice name, he said, "it's different. I don't think I've met another Elsa."

"Thanks," I gave him a small smile, "and your name is?"

"Jack," he cocked a crooked smile, "Jack Frost." We approached the building of my next class. "I'll catch you later, Elsa, it was nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, you too," I called back before entering the building.

When I got in my seat I pulled out my phone to make sure I was on time. The top bar notified me I had two new texts. The first was from an uncharted number, which was Jack informing me that the number belonged to him, and the second was from Anna, reading: "Hey pretty sister! Hope your first day back is great! Remember to smile! Love you!"

I smiled and told her I was fine, and that I loved her too. If only she knew her shy big sister met a boy; a late, seemingly unmotivated, frat boy, but a boy still.


	3. Chapter 2

I looked out my dorm room window with excitement the next morning, happy to see a fresh blanket of snow over the campus. Something about snow always seemed so magical to me. I like the summer too, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't give me the same feeling as winter weather.

It was Tuesday, and unlike my class-packed Monday the day before I am only offered two classes: linear algebra and core humanities. My roommate, Megara, was already gone which meant that I had the room to myself while I got ready. We rarely saw each other due to opposing time schedules, but she seems pretty nice. Truthfully, more than our schedules conflict; she's a freshman and very social, girly, likes to party, and as I mentioned before, I prefer a quiet, academic atmosphere.

I grabbed my shower caddy, towel, and dark-blue bathrobe and headed to the bathrooms. At I let my hair down and the hop tap water ran down my back, and let myself get lost in thought. My first class wasn't until 1pm. _I bet Jack would even show up late to a class like that._ I washed out the shampoo in my platinum blonde hair. _I'm glad I don't have many friends like that. _I sighed. In honesty, I didn't have many friends at all.

I have one friend here, we call him "Sweet" and we met in a recitation class for calculus 2 my freshman year. He is very loud, obnoxious, and sometimes embarrassing, completely not the kind of person I would expect to be friends with, but he is also very caring, and tries to look out for me, like an older brother, almost. I soaped up my loofa.

_I suppose Jack could be like Sweet. _I laughed to my self; I knew I couldn't handle more than one friend like that. I rinsed out my conditioner and the last traces of soap on my body. _He's probably just another frat boy who only cares about partying, girls, and his drink. _ I wrapped my hair in my purple towel and tied my robe tightly, then walked back to my room.

It was noon by the time I finished prepping for my day, and I laced up my boots before leaving for the dining hall. As I was leaving my dorm, I caught Megara entering with another girl and two other guys, both bearing TZE letters, one of which was none other than the icy-eyed Jack Frost.

"Oh, hey Elsa!" he said, holding the door open for me to leave.

"Hi," I replied shyly, then nodded a hello to my roommate.

I heard her tell the others that we were living together as I walked away. I wasn't too surprised that she knew him. She was from Sweet's hometown and word on the street was that she's pretty popular with guys and a regular partier.

As I got my food, I couldn't help but feel a tad jealous. Maybe I would feel better about myself if I wasn't so shy or serious. I find myself acceptable, but the fact that I don't really find myself socially acceptable tends to get me down.

I walked back to my room to grab my backpack and found the four from earlier still in our room. Megara was lying with the guy I didn't recognize in her bed, and Jack sat in her chair with a girl in his lap. _Oh, _I thought, _girlfriend...right. _I looked at him and he smiled at me, then I glanced at his girlfriend. Her green-brown eyes shot daggers at me as she flipped her black hair over her pale exposed shoulder (our room was warm, so she was in a tank top, I wasn't going to make assumptions on why she was wearing so less) and I walked quickly out the door.

_Of course he has a girlfriend, he's not antisocial like I am. _I sat in my seat and pushed my bangs back, then stopped, eyes widening slightly. _Why do I care?_ I asked myself. _I don't even know him and I'm jealous that he has a girlfriend. _ I sighed and pulled out my notebook, hoping school would take my mind off of my unexpected worry at hand.


	4. Chapter 3

After class I walked back to my room and was happy to find that my roommate and her friends were gone. I pulled open the blinds to the window in front of my desk and pulled out my planner and syllabi from my previous classes to map out my test and homework schedules of the term. I heard the sound of a key in our door lock.

_She's back, _I thought as I kept organizing my checklists for the semester. The sound of more voices let me know that she wasn't alone. The room filled with noise, but I refused to look up and kept working on my calendar. I felt the shadow of someone hovering over me.

"Watcha doing?" I glanced up at the source of the voice and found my gaze met by a pair of cold blue eyes.

I looked back down at what I was doing, "organizing my planner for later." I pulled out another syllabus from my bag.

"Oh, fun," he said sarcastically, picking up the paper I had just pushed aside. "Whoa, you're in linear algebra?"

I nodded.

"Isn't that a junior class?"

I nodded again, "math minor."

"Well, yeah, but you're in dif-eq at the same time. How many units are you taking?"

"Eighteen."

His jaw dropped.

"Someone's a nerd."

I forgot we weren't the only two people in my room, as his girlfriend spoke up. I closed my book and grabbed my backpack. I didn't want to stick around to hear whatever else she had to say. I didn't mind that I was called a nerd, in fact, Anna called me one all the time, but the fact that her tone was so derogatory toward me…I didn't want to hear anything else she had to say.

"I have to go to class, see you later, Jack," I grabbed my key and quickly ran out the door.

_I didn't do anything to her; I don't know why she had to be so rude. _Snow crunched under my feet as I made my way to my core humanities class.

I was able to relax in my class, and decided to grab a coffee from the Starbucks on campus and spend the rest of the night reading and finishing up homework in the library. I was tired and did not feel like running into anyone else I knew.

I walked into the coffee shop and ordered a caramel iced coffee with milk and a chocolate croissant. Most people would prefer a hot drink in cold weather, but I prefer the cold.

"Elsa, I have your venti caramel iced coffee," the barista yelled out.

I went to pick up my cup and offer my thanks when he spoke before I could, "Hey, you're Jack's friend aren't you?"

_I barely talk to this guy, and suddenly people are associating me with him, _I thought, "no, I only met him yesterday."

"Oh, that's still cool. I'm Peter, by the way. I'm one of Jack's roommates. Jack is friends with everyone, so when I saw you walking with him yesterday, then here, I had to ask." He smiled a perfectly straight, white smile, and his black-brown eyes lit up, "have a good night, see you around, Elsa!"

"Thanks, you too," I smiled weakly before exiting toward the library. _The past year-and-a-half no one wants to talk to or acknowledge me, and suddenly I make two friends and an enemy in the span of two days._

I finally made it my familiar spot, a carrel desk in the corner on the fourth floor. It was right next to a window that looked over a section of the roof as well as our student union building next door. The fourth floor was considered the "Greek" floor, where most sorority and fraternity members studied. I felt isolated enough in my carrel, no one bothered me or really came by me, and I feel embarrassment if I accidentally made a noise like on the floor above, the quiet floor.

I scooted comfortably under my desk and pulled out my MacBook Pro and my planner. First thing to do on today's list: read pages 15-62 of Machiavelli's The Prince. I took a bite of my croissant, turned my Pandora to my Mozart station, and opened my book, ready to get lost in the pages of my study and flush away any inconveniences I faced throughout the day.

I got home around 11:30 that night to find my roommate already asleep. I began to change quietly out of my clothes and into my pajamas when I heard her bed rustle.

"Hey there," a male voice said to me.

My eyes widened as I spun around, clutching my nightshirt against my chest to cover myself, hoping it was too dark to see that I was only in my underwear. I'm sure the fact that I'm so pale didn't help; it feels like I practically glow sometimes.

It was the TZE guy Megara had over before.

"Sorry," I whispered, not sure if I should be apologizing. I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment, as I turned around and put on my oversized tee shirt as fast as I could, then reached for my sweatpants.

"Don't be," he whispered back while I tied the drawstring on my pants. I didn't like the way that he said it, or the way I caught him looking at me. I ran out the room to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. When I got back it seemed the guy was asleep. I noticed a few empty and half empty bottles of beer and vodka on Megara's desk and understood the event at hand. I crawled into bed quietly and curled up under my blanket facing the wall, hoping the guy and my roommate wouldn't wake up and get any wild ideas.

Two hours later I was still awake, tossing and turning under my covers, anxious about my roommate and her guest, when the green light on my phone lit up indicating a new text message. It was from Jack.

J: Hey, you awake? :)

_Unfortunately,_ I thought before I replied.

E: Yes :) why are you up so late?

J: One of my roommates decided to throw a kickback and we still have people over. And it's only 2am! That's not even late!

E: It is for a school night though!

J: Haha maybe you're right, but it's college! Gotta have fun! Hey did you want to come over and watch movies or something? I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight :)

_Doesn't he have a girlfriend? _I remembered what Sweet told me: "If a guy wants to 'watch movies' and it's after 10:30, he doesn't really want to watch movies." Sweet would know, he's kind of a ladies man, and I wouldn't doubt he used a technique like that more than once.

_I should have expected this sort of thing from a guy like him. _I pushed my bangs back before returning a text.

E: Maybe another time, I'm super tired.

No response. _Right, that's what I thought. _I rolled over and felt sleep, finally, drift me into my dreamland, where all the pressures of the outside world couldn't get to me.

**Thanks everyone for all the support so far, this is my first time really writing, and it's very motivating. In case you don't know, I am a college student, and I base some events on things that actually happened to me, or other people that I know, I think that's why people say it's different. Not sure if most people that write college AU's go to college, or perhaps they just have a different experience. I'll stop rambling tho, thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Thanks again for all the follows and positive feedback! I'm an engineering major/math minor, so to hear anything good about my writing feels like super good. I know it's kinda slow, but I want it to be a bit more realistic, so just hang in there. Sorry T.T P.S. I gender bent Pitch because idk, seemed legit. Whatevs.**

The next day Jack wasn't in class. _Probably hung-over_, I thought as I walked to my economics class. I don't remember much of the two days after that. I didn't receive any text or run into Jack at all, and our class on Friday was canceled because Professor North had an unexpected trip to Siberia or something for some conference. Megara went out partying and was gone the whole weekend, which meant I had the room to myself.

I was more than relieved that she hadn't brought home any other guys since that Tuesday. I spent my weekend like I did every weekend: studying, reading, and catching up on homework, working ahead if I could.

Sunday night I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, put on my white sports bra and some spankies, grabbed my iPod, a hoodie, a blue Gatorade, and my work out bag. It was gym day. _Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy soul,_ I told myself as I walked up to the gym.

I turned on my Mozart and got on to a free elliptical. I love the elliptical. It's more fun than the treadmill, and I can space out and think without worrying so much about my workout.

I took a water break about ten minutes in and looked up to see a group of TZE guys at the bench press, one of which was, of course, Jack Frost.

I checked myself for a second, I didn't smell that bad, well not yet at least, and I pulled down my spankies incase they were riding up at all. I made sure my sports bra was covering everything it should have and when I looked back up, they had left.

_Why do I even care? _I sighed to myself as I took another sip of my Gatorade. When I put the bottle down I saw someone with white hair leaning against the computer of my elliptical.

"Oh, Jack, hey," I said, half startled, trying not to spit out the liquid contents in my mouth.

He was wearing a black tank top and a pair of dark grey basketball shorts, showing off how fit he was. He wasn't necessarily ripped or anything, but I'd say well-sculpted and extremely good looking. I had to try hard not to stare.

"Hey, what did I miss in dif-eq?" He cocked an every so sexy side smile.

"Not much, just linear functions and how to solve for the derivative. Not too hard."

"Sounds hard, you'll have to help me someday. I don't think it's going to be easy for me to wake up and go to that class," he laughed.

"Sure," I said, "I'm at the library almost every night, if you get stuck, that's where you can find me."

"Awesome, thanks, Elsa," he smiled and have me a quick hug before slipping away, "I'll let you get back to your workout, have a good night!"

He smelled really good.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

He shot me a white smile back and ran a hand through his snow-white hair.

"No promises!" and with that, he left.

I continued my workout, spacing out again, only my thoughts were focused on Jack. _He's so good looking. I bet he gets around though. He doesn't quite seem like that kind of guy. Guys like that don't go after good girls like me. No one goes after girls like me...I suppose though if he already has a girlfriend he doesn't want much to do with me anyways. Then why did he try to booty-call me last night?_

_ Speak of the devil, _I thought as she and some friends slid onto the other free ellipticals and one on the stair step machine next to me. I didn't know what to do, and assumed it was fair coincidence that they chose to workout next to me, so I cranked up my Beethoven and kept running…er…ellipticalling? _Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away. I don't want to deal with drama._

In the corner of my eye I saw her take her jacket off to reveal a black sports bra. She wasn't as curvy as I was, not that I was very curvy at all, but the amount of skin she had showing made me question my own choice of nothing to wear but spankies and a sports bra. Maybe I was showing too much.

I was glad she didn't really say anything to me, and my phone told me that I only had five more minutes left. It was really awkward for me, especially since I could vaguely hear her and her friends snicker though my classical music. _Give her the benefit of the doubt, Elsa; she's probably not even talking about you._

I finished up and grabbed my Gatorade. I wasn't paying attention when her friend moved from the stair step past me to the elliptical beside me, accidentally bumping me as she did so. I didn't think it was an accident by the way her friends reacted.

"Oh, sorry," she said as she walked over to the pale black-haired girl. They both began to laugh as the blue liquid spilled into my white sports bra, revealing the pattern of my regular bra underneath.

I stood there, half in shock as people turned and looked at us. I felt my face grow hot in embarrassment and a touch of anger. _We aren't in middle school anymore, _I thought as I grabbed my things quickly and rushed into the locker room to clean myself up before it dried and got sticky, _I thought this was college, why cant people grow up. _I zipped up my hoodie to hide what was left of the blue stain. _Why cant people just let me be. _I felt my eyes pool up in frustration but quickly rubbed them away. _Don't let it show,_ I told myself before leaving.

I started to walk out the gym when I heard my name. I turned around and was surprised to find Peter behind me.

His brown hair was sticking up on the sides from sweat, and he smiled at me his perfect smile, "hey, you forgot this."

In his hand was my small pink iPod.

I reached out and took it from him, "thank you, so much."

"Do you mind if I walk you back to your dorm?" he pushed his bangs off his forehead, "it's just kind of late and I'd hate for something to happen to you if I could help it."

"Oh, thank you, Peter, that would be very nice," I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and we headed for the door.

It was freezing outside, and the fact that I was in my workout clothes didn't help much, but Peter's talking kept my mind off the weather.

He told me about TZE, how he met Jack, what it's like to live off campus, and about how bad he wanted to be an elementary school teacher.

"This is your dorm?" he asked as we approached the brick building.

I nodded.

"Isn't it an all girls dorm?"

"Yes, I like it. It's very quiet, and it's the smallest dorm on campus. I stayed here my freshman year and liked it so I chose to stay here again."

He opened the door for me, "well, I'll see you later, Elsa. Come in and get another Starbucks soon, not too many beautiful girls like you come by," he smiled wide and winked, "and don't let Pitch get to you, she's just jealous that she isn't anyone's center of attention because you're new. See you around!"

"Bye," I said before walking to the stairs.

_I don't want to be anyone's center of attention,_ I sighed as I opened the door to the second floor. As I was walking down the hallway I saw the guy Megara was with on Tuesday night exiting our room. _Nope, _I told myself as I slipped quickly and quietly into the bathroom before he could see me. I think his name was Gaston or something. I waited until I heard the door to the stairway close, indicating that he was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Megara was asleep and the lights were off when I entered the room, so I quietly grabbed my shower supplies and discarded my stained sports bra, glad I could finally relax and get to sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

The next day Jack went to class but didn't sit with me or acknowledge me more than a quick nod of his head.

_Peter probably told him about Pitch and the Gatorade incident, _I thought, still embarrassed about the night before. _At least I wasn't the one behaving like a child...Maybe he likes outspoken girls though…_

I was snapped out of my daydreaming state when Professor North passed to us a quiz and my mind switched gears drama to mathematics.

The rest of my day was a blur. I took up Peter's request (he wasn't even working), and found myself in my familiar carrel in the library, this time a caramel apple spice in my hand and a slice of pumpkin bread next to my notebook.

I was half way through my Differential Equations homework when I felt someone's large presence behind me.

"Hey there, friend!" I jumped a little and turned around to face Sweet, his white smile in high contrast against his dark skin.

"Hi!" I hugged him. I don't think I've been so excited to see anyone all semester.

"Come sit with me, I want to hear about all your classes so far!"

I picked up my belongings and we headed to a group of tables out in an open space at the top of the stairway, where most of the Greeks sat. Sweet wasn't in a fraternity, but he seemed to know about everyone who was involved in Greek life. We sat by a group of Delta Theta girls, one of which he complimented, causing her to blush and her friends to giggle. _Well nothing about him has changed. _

We got situated and began talking while I did my homework. Most of it was about his girlfriend drama; about how difficult his med courses were for him; and about how Anna was doing at home. He reminded me how pretty he thought she was and laughed when I tsk'd him for crushing on a sixteen-year-old. Big sister mode was on. I knew he wasn't really serious, but it was still odd for me to hear.

I looked up from my work to condemn another one of his dirty jokes when I noticed Jack walking up the stairs. He was wearing a black pea coat, grey skinny jeans, and a dark blue Neff beanie. I paused as my mind wandered then completed my scolding, hoping Sweet didn't notice as I forced myself to give him my full attention. Jack was approaching our table and I watched from my peripherals, pretending not to notice.

"Hey, Elsa!" He said as he slid into the chair next to me.

"Hey, Jack, have homework to do?"

"Yeah, looking for my brothers," he scanned the tables around us.

Sweet had averted his attention back to his work and put on his headphones, so I didn't bother to introduce the two; however, on the other hand, I wasn't sure what to say next. I looked down at my work, hoping to find something to say.

"Is that the dif-eq homework that's due tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well, it's dif-eq, but it's not due till next week. I like to be ahead. Makes things easier."

He smirked at me, "you're a good girl, aren't you?"

My blue eyes rose toward him and I gave an inquisitive look. _What is that suppose to mean? Of course I'm a good girl. I have to be._

I didn't want to make myself sound bad incase he thought being good and well mannered was lame, but I wasn't going to lie about who I was either.

"Sorry, he laughed, and I realized I had paused for too long, "but do you ever have fun?"

I opened my mouth to protest, I had a lot of fun! But he was too quick:

"If you'd like, TZE is throwing a party at my place Friday night, it'd be cool if you could come. I'll text you more info and the theme and everything else, but really, you should come." He ran his hand through his perfectly styled white hair out of habit, and I swear I saw a faint blush creep across his cheeks.

"Sure, if I can get my homework done." I really wasn't sure; in fact, I doubted it would be a good idea to go at all. Parties weren't part of my comfort zone, and I never left my comfort zone.

"I'd say you're already a week ahead," he winked at me, "catch you later, my brothers are waiting."

He waved a hello to one of the Delta girls beside me, causing more giggles among the group, and took off toward the west side of the library.

Sweet took off his headphones as soon as Jack was a good distance away.

"You like him." He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"He's just a friend." I felt my face flush.

"Mhmm…" he raised an eyebrow at me.

"What?"

"You are going to that party"

"I have work to do."

"Elsa, you're going. He's right, you never let loose and have a good time. And God knows, you could use some love in your life."

"He doesn't love me. I think he has a girlfriend," I let out an exasperated sigh.

"I would say he likes you. I heard the whole thing. It takes a lot to ask a pretty girl to a party, and because of that, you're going."

"Fine," I said, turning back to my work. _How bad can it be, Elsa? It's only one night. Anna is going to die when she hears about this._

I got a text shortly after:

J: I'll pick you up in front of your dorm at 8:30pm, it's a handcuff party, so I guess just dress normal, I'll explain it to you if I have to. Can't wait to see you Friday :)

I looked up from my screen, "Hey, Sweet, what's a handcuff party?" He had to know, he's been here almost four years already. _Sounds sketchy, _I thought.

"Oh, it's not quite what it sounds like, if you're getting nervous," he laughed at the look on my face, "basically, when you walk in the door the handcuff you to the first person of the opposite gender left open next to you. Then you basically drink and play games to try out different keys. It's actually a really good way to meet new people because you can be stuck with someone you've never seen before, or don't have any mutual friends with. And if you're already taken, you get paired up with your significant other to avoid drama, and it becomes an excuse to get drunk."

Aside from the drinking part of it, it didn't sound too bad. My lack of body fat and drinking experience makes me a lightweight. I'd have to be careful and watch out for myself. On top of that, the idea of a hangover sounded repulsive.

It was almost midnight by the time we left the library, and Sweet gave me a ride for the ten-minute walk back to my dorm. He didn't want me to walk alone in the snow and ice, and said he didn't want to become a doctor to fix up his friend's tripping wounds; something like that. I sighed as I got ready for bed and sent Anna a goodnight text. She would have to wait until the next day to find out about everything.


	7. Chapter 6

"You what?!"

I held the phone away from my face as Anna's voice shouted through it. People around me began to glance over, and I turned down the volume.

It was the next day and I was catching up on my core humanities reading in the quad, sitting on my coat so my butt wouldn't get wet from the snow around me. I took a break from my Voltaire to give my sister a quick phone call before dinner. The reaction she gave came from my party invitation, and it was nothing less than I expected.

"And you were invited by a boy?!" she squealed and I imagined her jumping or clapping her hands, or squishing her cheeks with them like she does when she's excited.

"What's his name? Is he cute? I bet he's cute! Oh, you never meet boys! And if you do, you never give them your time!"

"Do you want to hear about it, or not?" I teased.

"Yes, yes! Sorry, sis!"

"His name is Jack and we met in my differential equations class. He's in a frat, likes to party, lots of friends, very social, and I'm pretty sure he has a girlfriend." When I thought about it, no one really confirmed officially that he and Pitch were dating.

"Well I bet you're beautifuller than her—well, not _fuller—_just, you're really pretty, Elsa."

"Thanks," I laughed a bit, "I don't think I'm going for that though. We're just friends."

Anna became silent.

"Anna?"

"You like him." She said as flatly as Sweet did, and I pictured a straight face on her.

"I don't know," I sighed, hoping we could change the subject. Anna did for me:

"Hey, I have news too!" her mood picking up again, "I also met a boy!"

I pushed my bangs out my face and took a deep breath. I knew this day would come. Anna was very attractive and her personality made her very approachable. I forgot that our parents were gone and that I'd have to deal with protecting her, or attempting to protect her from boys all on my own.

I tried to hide my discomfort and be supportive, "Oh, what's his name?"

"Hans Southerland!" she squealed.

I face-palmed involuntarily. I knew a few of the Southerland brothers from high school. Then again, it was impossible not to, there are thirteen of them.

Most of them were notorious for womanizing, and all held some held student government positions_. Anna probably met him from one of those events. _She was running for the junior class VP. She wasn't extremely popular like I heard Hans was, but she knew a lot of people.

"He's campaigning for president and asked me if I wanted to campaign with him!" she squealed, "Can you believe it?"

I rolled my eyes, "so you're dating the guy you're campaigning with? And what about Rapunzel? I thought you were working with her?"

"Yes! It's the cutest! It totally gives us more of a chance! And Rapunzel doesn't mind. She doesn't talk to me much, but I'm sure she's alright."

_She's too young to get it. _"I guess so, just don't get too into it. You only just met."

"Oh, but it's just so meant to be! We will win this thing, and get married, and have kids! Oh, and of course there's college to think about, that comes first."

"Anna, please, don't over-exert yourself. Like I said, you've only just met." I said sternly to her.

"Just because you have no love life and shut everyone out doesn't mean you have to ruin everyone else's," she snapped.

_Ouch_, I didn't expect her to get so upset. "Anna, please, you don't understand, I'm only trying to look out for you."

"Just look out for yourself. I don't need you to worry about me. Hans loves me, and we're perfect together. Have fun with Jack and your party."

She hung up.

I didn't anticipate her to flip on a dime and be so cold. She's rarely like that. _Probably stress from the election, _I thought. It still left a bad taste in my mouth. I hate fighting with Anna. Sisters shouldn't fight, especially since we only have each other.

I spent the rest of the night in the library and when I went to bed I couldn't stop repeating her words in my head. _"I don't need you to worry about me". _How could I not worry about her? She's my baby sister. She's blood. She's part of me.

I had a really hard time sleeping. _Everything will be all right, _I told myself as I held my pillow tight. _Tomorrow is always a better day. Right?_


	8. Chapter 7

Friday came much quicker than I expected. I still hadn't talked to or heard from Anna since our argument and it was starting to get me down. Jack texted me in the morning to make sure I was still going to the party, to which I gave a reluctant yes.

I seriously considered backing out. I was sure I wouldn't know anyone, and I was a little scared to be pressured into anything. In all honesty though, I didn't know what to anticipate. I remembered my promise to Sweet that I would go, and how excited Anna was for me, even if I wasn't, and decided against bowing down. If anything, I could always leave if I got uncomfortable. I was good at looking out for myself always have.

At six o'clock I took a shower and put on fresh makeup. I pulled my hair loosely into a side braid and styled my bangs. I wasn't really sure what to wear, so I threw on a pair of black leggings, an oversized grey and black knit sweater and my black combat boots. _At least I wont be cold,_ I thought. In movies girls always seem to wear dark makeup and small amounts of clothing to parties. I was sure this was different; this was real life, not a movie.

I looked over at my clock. It read 7pm. I sighed, _an hour-and-a-half early? Geez, Elsa..._

A half hour went by. I began to feel anxious as I waited and started pacing. My roommate came in the door and I didn't want her to see how nervous I was incase she would be going too, so I sat quickly at my desk and opened up my laptop. _Just an hour, can't back out now. _It was just enough time to watch a documentary. I always watch random documentaries to kill time. Might as well be learning, right?

I found one on Norse and Viking culture and tried my hardest to pay attention to it, my mind racing with scattered thoughts. I was so nervous; I swear I got up to use the bathroom about twenty times before my phone vibrated on my desk. I nearly jumped a mile. It was Jack.

J: Here :)

I got up, grabbed my bag, and quickly walked out into the hallway and down the stairs. I had to slow myself down; I realized my nerves had me practically sprinting.

In the loading zone in front of the dorm there was a brand new looking, silver, Honda Accord. Jack leaned down and waved when I walked out the dorm and I headed to the passenger door.

"Hey," he smiled at me as I climbed in.

"Hi," I said. Trying to hide my nerves as I put my seatbelt on and folded my hands in my lap.

He was wearing a blue and white Henley baseball-tee and black skinny jeans, and it look like he spent more time styling his white hair as usual. He also smelled fresh, like he just took a shower, in addition to whatever fragrance he usually wore.

"Don't worry, Peter and I will make sure you're alright." He laughed, "You're nervous, I can tell." He drove out onto the street.

I looked down at my hands and played with the clasp on my bag, "it's just not something I'm used to," I replied.

He looked at me and smiled, "no worries! Handcuff parties are pretty fun and they don't usually get too crazy. I take it you're also single, so we wont have a problem pairing you up."

"Wait, you're single?" I asked. "I thought you were dating—"

"Norma—er—Pitch?" He questioned. "No. People always think so though. Her and I dated in high school. She dumped me for some other guy, but she thinks she still has me."

He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "It's annoying most the time, but I let her. She's a good friend and all, but when you upset her…she's completely psychotic. You wouldn't believe some of the things she's done to people."

_Oh, I bet I could, _I thought to myself.

We pulled up to a two-story house and he parked in the driveway. There were quite a few other cars on the street, and you could faintly hear the music blasting from inside.

"Ready?" He asked, giving me a smile.

I took a deep breath and nodded, then followed him up to the porch. _It's ok Elsa, just be cool. Relax. Lots of people do this on a regular basis. You're fine. _I told myself. He went to unlock the door and I stood quietly behind him. When he finally opened it, my anxiety was at its max, and I followed closely behind him inside.

I barely made my way through the door when I was grabbed by who I thought were three other people. I closed my eyes and tried not to struggle as I felt cold metal close in against my left wrist. I panicked for a split second, the remembered the point of the party.

I looked to see who I would be spending most my night with, and was a bit relieved that it had been Jack after all, especially since I didn't know anyone else.

_The first person you're closest to. _I should have guessed it would have been Jack, since he was the one to take me here. _Did he plan this?_

He looked down and smirked at me. Something about the way he looked down at me right there made my knees weak.

"Looks like you're stuck with me the whole night."

I cracked a half-smile nervously and looked back up into those beautiful ice-blue eyes, "where do we get the first key?"

His smile widened, "beer pong," and he pulled me toward what I would soon discover was the garage.

Just like that, my night began.


	9. Chapter 8

I was a little glad that my left hand was cuffed and not my right. Not that it would make a difference; I couldn't land my Ping-Pong ball into one of the red cups for the life of me. Luckily, Jack was very good. _I bet he gets lots of practice_, I thought, and it seemed the couple across from us already had a lot to drink, because they were doing just as bad as I was.

There were maybe ten to fifteen people in the garage and probably twenty to thirty in the house. Someone handed me a cup of golden liquid and I put it down next to our other beer pong reject cups from the game. _It's okay to drink a little, _I told myself, _but only if you know where it came from. _I didn't care if I was at a party; I wasn't quite completely going to let myself go.

Yells and cheers were added to the already noisy atmosphere as jack landed his Ping-Pong ball into the last cup. I clapped my hands for him; happy he could pick up my lack of coordination. On top of that, I didn't really didn't want to play again, and only the winner got the option of keys.

"Three keys for the winner!" The key-holder gave us three differently patterned, small keys to try. None fit.

"Here, lets get you a drink" Jack yelled over the noise, walking me into the house.

I looked around at the other girls at the party and felt relatively overdressed. Most were in mini-skirts, short shorts and were bearing large amounts of cleavage. I looked down at my plain sweater and combat boots. _Maybe, if I were like the other girls, he would like me. _I didn't want to be like the other girls at the party per se, but part of me felt bad he was stuck with someone so uptight and serious about herself. _This isn't where I belong…_

"Elsa, you okay?" Jack asked, snapping me back to reality.

"Yeah," I smiled weakly, "Sorry, just spacing out"

"It's cool," he smiled and handed me a red Solo cup.

I looked at the contents inside. It was red and half full of ice. I took a sip. "Mmm, that is this?"

"Cranberry juice, lemonade, and a bit of pineapple juice. It also has a bit of vodka, but I told the bartender to put in half-amount, since I doubt you drink much."

"Thanks," I said, taking another sip. You really couldn't taste the alcohol, but I drank it slowly, just in case. He grabbed himself a can of beer.

"Each can or cup gets you one key, and each shot gets you two." He said.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to face a bright-smiling Peter.

"Elsa! So glad you could come!" he pulled me into a hug with his free arm, "hey, Jack!"

Jack nodded his head in acknowledgement while drinking the last of his beer.

"Oh!" Peter pulled the girl he was cuffed to closer to him, "this is Wendy! She likes sewing, and also wants to be an elementary teacher."

The girl was about an inch or two shorter than I and wore a light-blue knee-length dress and a white cardigan. She had soft blue eyes, and her dirty-blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail. She had a very classy look about her.

"Wendy, this is Elsa, she's super smart, and Jack…well, he's not really as cool as he looks."

"Hey!" Jack protested, another beer in his hand, "a lot cooler than you!"

Everyone laughed and I shook my head.

"They started a fire out back, if you two would like to join us," Wendy offered.

Jack held up his can, empty again, "sure, let me get one refilled first."

_He drank two beers, and I'm barely half done with my cup_, I thought to myself.

Peter and Wendy held hands as they walked past us and Jack pulled me back to the kitchen. Both keys didn't work, so Jack to a shot and got two more, which, like the first, weren't the ones, we were looking for.

I felt bad, like he was trying to get rid of me almost. It was like he read my mind:

"Elsa, I'm so sorry, I'm not trying to leave you, I just really have to use the restroom, and I don't want to force you to drink for me to get our key, but I don't think I can drink anymore for myself. I feel like I'm about to burst," he was talking really fast, "I tried to hold it, like the past hour, but will you please just take me to the bathroom."

"Oh…er…" I felt myself blush at his request, "um…sure." I said.

"Thank God," he pulled me up the stairs and down a dark hallway until we made it into the bathroom.

I don't think I've ever lived a more awkward experience in my life. I stood next to him, facing the other direction, almost back-to-back while he did his business. I took another sip from my cup while he finished up and washed his hands.

"Sorry about that," he blushed slightly and opened the door for me, "shall we?"

When we exited, we were met by Pitch at the top of the stairs. I found out that her last name was Black, and she got her nickname from the large amounts of black she used to wear in middle and high school. Also that she made sure it stuck. Apparently she didn't like the name "Norma". She was wearing a really short, really tight, black and silver dress, and her long black hair was let down in perfect curls. She also had on a pair of what looked like six-inch heels.

"Hey, Jack," she was leaning against the banister, red cup also in her hand.

I looked towards the ground as he accepted her hug, "uncuffed already? What are you drinking?"

She took a sip and handed him her cup. "Shang and I found our key after our third shot." She smiled at me a cold smile, "you look…" she surveyed my sweater, leggings, and braid, "nice."

The face she had made said otherwise.

I smiled weakly and accepted the compliment, even if it wasn't meant to be one. I didn't want to cause problems, and I was assuming she was only acting civil toward me because Jack was with us; or maybe it was the alcohol. I was also relieved her cup was in his hand instead of hers, in case she decided to dump that on me too. Speaking of the cup, she frowned when he handed it back.

"I didn't mean drink it all!" she exclaimed then hit his arm playfully.

"Hey, in my defense, you didn't say just a sip either," he smirked.

She handed him the cup. "Take it for a key. It must suck to be stuck to the same person for so long." She shot me a look

"Nah, Elsa's pretty chill, I think I'll keep her a little longer. Thanks though."

She opened her mouth to protest but he spoke up first, "do you want to go outside with us? We told Peter and Wendy we'd meet them out there almost a half hour ago."

"Sure, let me get another drink."

She shot me another menacing look, and Jack led me down the stairs


	10. Chapter 9

Before we went outside, Jack exchanged an empty beer can for a new one and we got another bad key. He filled up my drink with something similar as before and we walked to the backdoor.

I was amazed at how much he could drink and still function. He was a tad out of step, but not as bad as a lot of the other people at the party. I was slightly buzzed just after my first cup, but I knew I was a lightweight, so I kept drinking slowly.

Outside, there were three small couches and a few chairs around a fire pit. We sat next to Peter and Wendy, since it was the largest spot available, the guys on the outside, and Wendy and I on the inside.

It was cold, but the fire was more than enough to keep us warm.

"I really like your boots, Elsa!" It was Wendy who spoke up.

The guys began their own conversation.

"Thank you," I said shyly, "I like your dress very much. It's classy."

"Thanks! I agree, I'm really not into anything short or tight fitting, or with lots of skin showing."

I was a little relieved I wasn't the only one.

"Are you guys...?" I gestured at her and Peter, trying to make some sort of conversation.

"Oh, yeah, not very long though. Peter flirts with a lot of girls, so I didn't actually think he wanted anything serious, but when he asked me out I couldn't say no," she sigh dreamily.

_Sounds almost like Jack,_ I thought, _only I don't think Jack wants anything serious with anyone._

My train of thought was derailed and I forgot about Wendy altogether when Norm—Pitch came up and sat on the arm of the couch next to Jack. The light from the fire made her green-brown eyes look like they were glowing yellow as she reached into her bag and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. After lighting her cigarette, she leaned her arm over the couch behind Jack, her flat chest resting on his shoulder.

"Do you have any siblings?"

I felt bad for averting my attention from Wendy for so long.

"Yes, I have a little sister named Anna. She's sixteen"

"Oh, I wish I had a sister!" she clasped her hands together in excitement, apologizing to Peter as his hand came with hers.

"She's quite a handful," I said.

My mind went back to our fight a few days before. I shook it off. Jack and Pitch were talking and sharing the cigarette. She ran her hand through his hair and shot me a look of death. I took a long drink and finished my cup, trying to block the pained feeling of jealously from seeping into me.

"Do you have brothers then?" I asked, focusing my attention away from the sharp feeling in my stomach caused by Pitch's affection, and Jack's refusal to stop said attention.

"Yes," she smiled, "two brothers, Jon who is sixteen, and Michael who is fourteen." We drive our father crazy most of the time, but we have a good family. What about your parents?"

"They were business owners…they passed in a plane crash four years ago." I looked down at my empty cup. It still hurt to talk about, and the alcohol wasn't helping

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry," Wendy's eyes widened as she fought for words to say.

"No, no, it's okay," I smiled weakly, "do you have any pets?"

She smiles a small smile back at me, happy to change the subject, "yes, we have a dog named Nana. She's very old, but we love her. Had her since we were very young. What about you and Anna?"

"We have a small dog named Olaf. He's always excited and energetic. He keeps Anna company at home while I'm here."

_Why couldn't you just be happy with Olaf's attention_, I thought to myself,_ you had to fight for Hans'._

Jack, who now had Pitch half in his lap, broke up our conversation "Elsa, can we go take in your cup?"

I nodded and said goodbye to Wendy before getting up. I was a little disappointed. I wasn't having a particularly good conversation, but it was nice to get along with another female. Pitch's friends avoided me like the plague and cast derogatory looks my way.

Our key didn't work and Jack handed me another cup. I began walking outside when he pulled me back.

"Can we go to another room? I don't really feel like socializing with everyone."

"Sure," I said hesitantly as he led me upstairs. _He better not try anything. _I thought.

When he opened the door I was a bit relieved to see it wasn't a bedroom, but what looked like a game room instead. My phone told me it was only midnight, but my body was said it was later. I was getting really tired.

We sat on one of the couches and I noticed how much worse of a time he had walking.

"Sorry I didn't mean to take you, it looked like you and Wendy were getting a long really well, our key just didn't work."

"It's okay." I looked down into my cup that was filled with another vodka mixture, only it contained soda and flavored vodka. It was still very good.

"I'm not trying to get rid of you, I just know the only reason Pitch is all over me is because you're here. She dumped me, and really only wants me when someone else does. She doesn't want me against her at all. I made some other friends that didn't like her, and she…well, it wasn't pretty."

"Did you ever try asking her to lay off?"

He shook his head.

"All the time, but Pitch listens to no one but herself." He ran his hand through his hair, "I like you, Elsa. You're different. You let yourself go, but not completely. You still have control at all times."

I looked up at him shyly, my grey-blue gaze meeting his, "you don't think it's lame?"

"Not at all," he smiled at me, "girls like that are ten a penny, or whatever that saying is. It get's old pretty fast."

I didn't know what to say. Do I say I like him too? I don't know him that well.

"Thank you, Jack," was all I could do. I wasn't sure what else to tell him, in case I ended up sounding too needy. I hoped and figured he was too drunk to mind.

He scooted closer to me on the couch. I looked up again at his icy blue eyes as he slowly leaned toward me. He smelled like beer and a little bit of cigarette, mixed in with his usual scent. It was surprisingly intoxicating.

I snapped back to reality when got closer and his eyes started to close. _He's trying to kiss me! _I realized, finally, feeling like an idiot. _Do I want to kiss him? _

I knew I did. There was no doubt in my mind. Something inside caused me to also close my eyes, as I waited for our lips to make contact. _Just let it go. _I told myself, butterflied mad in my stomach.

We were less than a millimeter apart when the door behind us burst open. Jack and I both jumped back in surprise. I felt my face get warm and my heart was racing. Jack's condition was quite the same. We look to see who interrupted us.

Pitch was standing in the doorway.


	11. Chapter 10

**Thank you everyone for the awesome reviews! I have some good news and some bad news. Bad news: it's going to be spring break, and I probably won't update as much. Good news: well, one, it's spring break, and two, I will be able to work on making mine and my sister's Elsa and Anna cosplays for next winter! So thanks for your patience, and thanks for being so excited!**

Pitch was standing in the doorway, jaw dropped and a look of hurt? Disgust? I couldn't tell. She did, however, look upset. She ran out and shut the door.

Jack ran a hand through his hair, "great, I didn't want more drama."

"I didn't really know what to say. I was still excited inside from the kiss that didn't happen. "Should you go to her?" I asked. Honestly, I didn't want him to.

"Probably," he gave an exasperated sigh, "but she's best to be left alone right now."

I looked down at my cup again and decided to take a sip.

"Oh, off topic, Elsa, but at 1am all the keys will be in the living room, so we can be separated if we can't find our key. Sorry about all this."

"It's all fine," I smiled to try to reassure him, "I'm having a good time."

He smiled at that, "good, I was hoping it would be fun for you. I didn't expect us to be together for so long."

We talked a little longer, when Gaston walked in the door. _Megara must be here too, _I thought.

"The keys are downstairs and people are leaving." He nodded me an awkward hello and left right after.

"Well, shall we?" Jack grabbed my pale hand and we left the room.

There were only about ten people left when we got downstairs, and only one other couple beside us still cuffed.

On the coffee table was a small pile of keys and another of discarded handcuffs. The other couple unlocked themselves by their third key. We made it through all the keys. Twice.

"Is it still in another room?" I asked.

"Let me ask Phillip," Jack waved for a guy with light brown hair and eyes, and I tried the keys again.

Phillip left and came back, "there aren't any. We'll have to look tomorrow morning when we clean up. We can try to find a set of pliers if you want, but I'm sure you're welcome to spend the night. Jack's call, he has to sleep with you."

Jack looked down at me, "I wouldn't mind keeping you here, but it's up to you, Elsa."

"I don't want to be an inconvenience."

"You aren't," he laughed, "not at all, I hope you don't mind spending the night though, I'm really tired."

"I suppose." It couldn't hurt. It was just one night and it's only because we can't find my key. _No other intentions present._

He led me to his room. It was a little weird for me, walking into my crush's room. Most girls would be excited, while I proceeded with intense caution.

"Here, I wont look." He handed me a pair of black basketball shorts with a high school logo on them. "I'd give you a shirt too, but seeing as we can't free our arms, your sweater will have to do.

I slipped the shorts on my pale hips quickly; glad he kept his word and didn't look, putting on his own pair of shorts. He had a large, queen-sized bed that was unkempt with grey sheets and a blue comforter. I was surprised that his room was so clean; most guys don't clean too often.

Lying down was a bit awkward, and adjusting the covers even more so. We had to lie on our backs or our stomachs because of our handcuff predicament. He chose our backs; I didn't argue. It was a little hard to get comfortable, but my body was so tired that I didn't care.

"Hey, Elsa," he spoke softly, free hand resting on his stomach.

"Yes, Jack?" I whispered. I was surprised when his other hand laced its fingers in mine.

"I know I've already told you, maybe a thousand times by now, but I'm really glad you're here."

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "me too," I said, butterflies back in my stomach.

His breathing began to slow and get heavier a few minutes later and I assumed he was asleep. _Probably passes out from the drinks, _I thought as I shifted to get more comfortable. I let go of his hand and rolled over to face him, since it was the only way I could lay on my side. I knew I'd get a dead arm and regret it later, but for that moment, I didn't care.

I glanced up to look at him sleeping. There was a window next to his bed that let in the light of the full moon. He really was incredibly handsome. His face was perfectly sculpted and his jaw was sharp. There was something still boyish, childish about his features. He looked…playful almost. As if when he woke up, he would be the light of great fun. He rolled to face me as well and I looked away, afraid I was creeping out on him. I rolled on my back again and shut my eyes. _Just go to sleep, Elsa, you're all right. _Inside, I knew I was more than all right.

I thought I would take a long time for me to get to sleep, but I was out in a matter of minutes. It wasn't until I felt a weight on my chest that I woke up to darkness.

The weight happened to be Jack's head, resting between my breasts. He had rolled over onto me, and must have slid lower in his sleep. Our cuffed arms were something of a tangle underneath him and his free arm was tight around my waist.

"Jack?" I whispered at him. I felt my body tense. "Jack, are you awake?"

He exhaled, heavy as ever on me. It was warm, comforting almost. I let my body relax again, and ran my fingers through his soft white hair and rested it up above my head on the pillow before letting sleep take me again.


	12. Chapter 11

**Thanks everyone for holding up the week I was on break! I think this one is longer, so I hope that excites you! Thanks again for the reviews, favorites, and follows, and for making it this far with me!**

The winter sun was shining on me when I woke up. I rubbed my eyes with both my hands, spreading my hardened eye-makeup around, before opening them. I panicked for a split second, forgetting where I was, and then I remembered Jack, the party, Pitch, and the lost key. I was alone in the bed, glad to find my clothes intact and not so glad about the pounding headache I had. _At least I don't feel sick, _I thought.

I sat up in the bed and looked around. What I assumed were our handcuffs laid on his desk next to a key. _Someone must've found it. _It explained the fact that Jack wasn't there. I kept looking around. He had band posters on his walls and a Norwegian flag hanging in a corner. His sliding closet was open, and I noticed that his clothes in it were all color coordinated. It was a bit odd, but it was nice to see he was organized. I also noticed a sliding glass door that lead to a balcony that was covered in a fresh blanket of morning snow._ It was too dark, or I was too tired to see it last night_, I figured.

I checked my phone for the time. It was 11:30am. I didn't know where Jack was, so I decided to stay put in his room. I walked over to the door of the balcony and looked outside. The air was cooler from the glass and it felt nice to be near. _Strange how something so cold could be so comforting_, I thought. The couches we sat on last night were covered by tarps to withstand the elements and the fire pit was black and white with snow and ash. Everything looked different in the light.

I turned back in toward his room and continued observing what was around me. He had a flat screen television mounted in another corner of his room that was hooked up to the latest PlayStation system, and on his desk was a MacBook Pro of his own, along with piles of notebooks, papers, and a picture of him and a little girl. I walked forward to examine it closer; it was the only indication of him being involved with any other human being in his room. The girl looked to be about eight or nine years old with dark brown hair and big brown eyes that contrasted his icy white features. _Almost like me an Anna, _I told myself. It looked as if they were at an ice skating rink, and like they were having a lot of fun. Both their smiles were broad and wide. Jack always seemed to have fun, in one way or another.

The door handle turned and I jumped before turning my attention to the opening door. Jack walked in with a white towel around his waist. My eyes went wide.

"Oh, Elsa, you're awake," he said, not bothered at the fact he was standing more than half naked in front of me.

I nodded, trying with no avail to stop my cheeks from turning redder than the pink they already were. It took all my willpower to avert my gaze from his perfectly sculpted chest and core.

"Sorry," I turned around quickly, trying to calm myself down. I prayed he didn't notice. _Surely, _I thought, _a guy like that does not want anything to do with a girl like me. He may as well be a supermodel._

"Oh, I don't care if you look," he laughed, confident. I could imagine the smirk on his face, "it's fine".

I glanced behind me and quickly whipped back around. He was using the towel to dry his hair, and I was thankful it was covering his face, so he didn't catch me peaking at him.

"It's not fine," I said weakly, _totally not fine. Well, he is fine, but—oh, Elsa, stop that!_ It wasn't like I've never seen a boy before; I had previous experiences with guys, but not guys like Jack. Jack was just a friend. Wasn't he?

Though I was relieved he didn't catch my quick glimpse of him, part of me wished I were able to take a longer look. I'm not going to lie, as much of a good girl as I am, I can't help but get curious at times.

"Oh, and Pitch found they key last night," he said, "Peter said that after she found out why we were in here together she went frantic and found it. I guess she wanted to break us apart ASAP, but he wouldn't allow her to wake us up. She slept on the couch and he made her leave this morning before waking me up and giving us the key."

"Sorry," I said, still facing away from him.

"He gave me a puzzled look, "what for?"

"I feel like I'm the source of all this unnecessary drama."

"She's the one causing this drama, not you, Elsa. If she would stop hating me for not dating her, and leave me alone, everything would be fine." He came up behind me and I turned around, surprised to find he was closer than I thought.

He had his black skinny jeans on, but still no shirt. "You apologize a lot, why is that?"

I tried not to stare at his torso and instead focused on the ground. "I don't know, I've always been like that. I guess I say so just incase I offend anyone."

He pulled me close to him and wrapped his arms around me. I was a little surprised and confused at what to do, not to mention I'm sure my heart rate was off the charts, so I decided to grab my wrists around his body also. He obviously wanted to be close, right?

"Well you don't ever have to apologize to me, he said as I lifted my face to look into his eyes, "as long as you're being yourself, you've done nothing wrong."

I felt a dopey smile trace my lips as I looked back at him and his handsome face. He tilted his up a bit and gently kissed the center of my forehead before parting away from me, "Put your pants on, I'll take you home. You probably want to shower or make up or whatever you females do."

He put on a blue V-neck before handing me my leggings from the day before, "I'll meet you downstairs when you're ready."

He smiled at me again and the look in his blue eyes made me guess he maybe, just maybe, felt the same about everything as I did.

I changed happily, my mood at an all time high from his kiss, even if it was only on my forehead. It was sweet. It was really, really sweet.

I reached in my bag that was on the floor and pulled out my compact to quickly check myself over. One glance told me I should have looked at myself before he came back. My braid was falling apart; pieces of my blonde hair framing my face and my shorter bangs were half sticking up on top of my head. I felt sweaty after sleeping, but a quick survey of my underarms told me I didn't really smell _that_ bad. My black eyeliner I had rubbed earlier was spread up one side of my face. I worked hard as I could to try to rub it off, and smoothed my bangs down best I could. I figured it was better than how he saw me previously as I put my mirror away and folded the shorts he let me borrow, and then left out the door.

Jack was waiting for me downstairs on his cellphone, swinging his lanyard around with his keys attached.

"Ready?" he asked, watching me walk down the stairs.

I nodded and we walked out into the cold to his car.

It was a quiet ride back to my dorm.

"Bye, Elsa, I'll text you later," he smiled at me as I stepped out the passenger door.

I bent down to get a better look at him, "thanks, Jack, I really had fun," I said, feeling about the partial lie. It was fun, but Pitch wasn't. That, and I don't think parties are much my thing.

He smiled wider and I didn't regret my words. I shut his door and he drove off as I walked up the short stairway to my dorm.

I flopped onto my bed. Megara wasn't home. I smiled my giddy smile and replayed the night and morning's events over and over in my head: the interrupted kiss, the surprise cuddling, his half—or completely, naked body, the embrace and the forehead kiss.

I felt my phone vibrate and was sadly awakened from my trance. I got excited, _I didn't expect him to text me back so fast, _I thought to myself.

I was a tad surprised and a tad disappointed to see Anna's name instead of his on my messenger screen.

A: Hey, sis, I'm sorry about what I said the other day. Please call me when you get a chance, I'm not really okay :(

I sat up and quickly pressed the call button, glad she was talking to me again. Protective big sister mode was on. Whatever she was upset about I was going to try my hardest to fix it.


	13. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone. A lot of people like my story I assume by the reviews, and I'm really super sorry, but I won't be able to update so frequently. It's kinda second midterms at school, and I'm taking 18 units (six classes) that are almost all giving me grief. So I just want to let you know, that's what's going on right now T.T Thanks for all your support so far too! It makes me super happy to see that people are engaging with me and my story!**

**P.S. I have 20 chapters on paper that need to be typed, so when I do have time to update, there's just a ton of stuff for you ;)**

Anna was crying when I called her and I were immediately more worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She was fighting to calm herself and the scratchy sound on the phone lead me to believe she had wiped her eyes, "it's Hans," she said, "he dumped me and got with Merida right away; like the day after."

I heard her sniffle through the line. "Why did he dump you?" Anger was pooling into me at a rapid rate. If he did anything to my baby sister, so help me, God, he is a dead man.

"Well, we had elections yesterday, and it's not like real elections where you have a set VP or real running mates, so anyone can vote for anyone. I won and he didn't, Rapunzel did. He told me that the only reason he dated me was because we had a higher chance of winning as a couple, and he thought he could get me to put out."

I swear, my heart stopped for a split second. I may have had my experiences with guys in high school, good or bad, but I not want her to have any. At least nit with a guy like Hans.

"I didn't," she proceeded, "but that's not the point. Rapunzel still won't talk to me, and she's my best friend. You were totally right; about everything," she sighed, "I just don't know what to do."

"Did you try talking to her?" And as far as Hans goes, it's hard advice to follow, but just give it some time and you'll feel better; all you can do is get over it."

She was a lot more relaxed it seemed and I was glad she wasn't crying anymore, "I tried to congratulate her and she snubbed me. And I knew you would say that about him…" she sighed.

"Maybe you should tell her what happened. I'm sure that she'll understand. You two were always good friends."

"You're right. We've been friends for so long. I guess I'll go do that not. Thanks, sis. Sorry I was so mean to you."

"It's fine," I said, "just go fix things with Rapunzel. Ill talk to you late—"

"WAIT!" I pulled my phone back up to my face, "tell me about your party!"

"Oh, nothing really happened. I got paired with Jack all night though."

"Did he kiss you?" Her excitement picked up.

"Well, not really."

"Not really?"

"I guess he kissed my forehead," I said as she squealed through the other end.

"So I take it he doesn't have a girlfriend?"

"No, but he did date that girl I was talking about, and apparently she's still into him, so it's been causing a lot of drama."

"I'm sorry," she said, "it sounds unfortunate for her more so than you, but I'm glad you did something out of your comfort zone. Ill talk to you tomorrow maybe, I'm gonna call Punzie."

"Alright, Anna, congrats for winning VP, tell her that I said congrats, and good luck."

"Thanks, sis, bye, love you!"

"Bye, you too!"

I hung up my phone and flopped back onto my bed, the bounce reminding me of my headache.

I got a kiss from Jack and I fixed things with Anna. Nothing could ruin this day for me.


	14. Chapter 13

Okay, so I thought nothing could ruin my day.

Megara came home around 2pm with Gaston. I was a little annoyed, and a little embarrassed from our previous encounter, but I figured Gaston was too drunk that night or too tired to remember anything. I sat on my bed and kept watching the documentary I had on about some famous serial killer.

About half and hour later, Megara left, leaving Gaston and me alone in the room together. There was a strange tension in the air. It made me very uncomfortable; I didn't like being a lone with him. Something inside me told me that I had to leave. Now. I walked over to my desk to grab my keys and bag when I felt him come up behind me.

Gaston was big. Not fat by any means, but extremely muscular. He was on our college football and rugby teams, and from what I heard, he was one of the star players for both sports.

"What are you doing?" I asked nervously, yet sternly.

"C'mon, Elsa, I want what Jack got last night"

"What?" I asked, fear growing inside me. He grabbed my waist from behind and I felt his member against my backside. I quietly reached in the front pouch of my bag.

He pushed me so I was bent over the desk, "don't play dumb, we all heard what happened. Don't worry, I'm more experienced than he is, it'll feel a lot bet—"

I held my breath and turned around to face him, shutting my eyes as I unleashed the contents of my small canister of mace that I had pulled from my bag. He began coughing violently, clearly caught off guard and I ran as fast as I could out the door Megara was in the hallway, walking back with a bag of food boxes in her hand. I ran past her and down the stairs until I was walking along the sidewalk into the campus.

My fear quickly turned to anger. Jack lied about me. I wiped the tears that forming in my eyes away. _Why would he do that? I thought I was more to him than his reputation. Or at least that he wasn't that kind of guy. _I couldn't shake the sick feeling from my stomach. My chest felt like someone was squeezing it without the intention to release.

Since it was Saturday, there were only one or two people on campus. I sat below a tree in an area of grass tucked away. I emptied my hands and was happy to see I had held onto my key in the chaos. I looked at my pink can of pepper spray and laughed a little. I never thought I'd have to use it, let alone use it in my own room. _Gaston will probably tell Megara that I'm crazy, _I laughed again, _how did this all happen to me?_

The snow around me on the grass was cold but refreshing. My head still hurt so I lied down in the ice. Somehow, my worries seemed to melt away when I was there, surrounded by the solid water. I didn't care that Jack lied or that Gaston was a creep. I was the same, right? I could just crawl back into the kingdom of isolation I came from.

I closed my eyes, comforted by the cold around me.

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until I woke up. I sat up, glad no one seemed to have disturbed me or come across me and checked my phone. It was 6pm and I still haven't received the promised text message from Jack. If anything, that would completely lift my spirits, and I begged for it to come sooner. I needed it. I got up and brushed the snow off of me. My stomach started to growl so I thought it best to make my way to the cafeteria.

I sat alone, like always, and noticed Megara sitting at a large table with some of her friends. Pitch was among them, right next to her. It looked like she was consoling my roommate. That's when I noticed that Meg had her makeup running and smeared down her cheeks, and that her eyes were red and the skin around them looked irritated and puffy. _She's probably upset about Gaston, _I thought to myself, _I wonder what he told her when she walked in; he would probably still have been coughing, and his eyes still sore._

Pitch didn't have a loud voice, but it wasn't hard to pick up their conversation. Part of me felt like she wanted me to overhear her.

"If he says she seduced him, then she did. I mean, how well do you know her? She slept with Jack last night; she's probably just that easy. She probably got him with her mace because she didn't want him to tell anyone."

"She just always seemed so nice," Megara wiped her eyes, "a bit weird, but still nice."

"People aren't always as they seem," Pitch replied to her.

_You're one to talk,_ I scoffed at myself. It was as if she heard my thoughts, because she looked at me with a deadly gaze. I pretended not to notice as I drank the last of my water and wiped my mouth with a napkin. I put my dishes back and walked back to my room, the sun setting behind the building, lighting up the clouds in the sky in a beautiful way that was almost depressing to me.

I took a shower and got ready for bed, finished up some homework, and settled in my bed. It was only 10pm, early for me and for a Saturday night, but I wanted the day to end sooner. I still hadn't received a text from Jack and I was starting to feel extremely discouraged about the entire situation.

Rumors were flying, I supposedly slept with two guys in a time frame of barely over twelve hours, my roommate hates me, the guy I thought actually likes me wants nothing to do to me, and our, or I guess my enemy has found a way to make my life miserable. It was frustrating.

I sighed in my bed, _it's amazing how things can change so fast._

Megara entered the room and I pretended to be asleep. I didn't want to deal with any more drama by confrontation. She fell asleep quickly, probably exhausted by emotions, but I stayed wide-awake, sorting my thoughts.

It was then, in that moment that I made a decision. I was going to push away all these things causing so much negative energy in my life. No more parties, no more sleepovers with boys, no more gossip, no more drama, no more Pitch, no more Jack Frost.


	15. Chapter 14

**Alright, so you guys have some options. Feel free to message me or write a review with your preference, whichever best floats that little boat of yours ;) Would you guys want longer chapters, with longer time intervals, or would you like me to keep them short & updated as they currently are? By longer, I mean two chapters in one roughly. Thanks again everyone who has been with me so far, and to those who are just joining! **

Monday finally came and I don't think I've ever been so happy to go to class, as I was that day. I woke up late and braided my bangs back, clipping them away from my face, and pulled the rest of my semi-wavy blonde locks into a high ponytail. There was no time to straighten it, so my basic, messy style would have to do. Megara was gone. She hadn't spoken a word o me all yesterday, which I was fine with. I ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and splash some water on my face, and then when I got back I brushed a light foundation over my already pale skin to cover any blemishes I had. A light sweep of mascara was all I had time for, and I grabbed my notebook before running out the door.

I walked quickly as always to my class, the snow around me melting in the morning sun. _The seasons are changing, _I thought, a little early for February. I opened the door of the business building. As I moved past the students leaving the various classrooms and lecture halls in the hallway, I noticed Pitch was standing up against the wall by my next class.

She was done up, making my pain outfit, grey jeans and a grey thermal, look, well, plain. Her dark makeup was perfect, and her hair was long and straight, draping over a tight, sleek, long sleeved black dress. She held a coat in her hand that was black-brown and trimmed with fur, and, once again, she was standing in very tall black heeled boots, which allowed her already tall, slim figure to tower over mine.

I tried to ignore her and held my head up. I kept walking at my usual quick pace, hoping I could slip by without any verbal encounter. She caught up to me and grabbed my shoulder, turning me sharply around to face her.

"Elsa, I need to talk to you," she said, sounding…concerned? She seemed like so much of a liar, I could never actually tell what she was.

"I have to go to class, I'm going to be late," I tried to struggle from her grip but she held me in place with little effort.

"Just ever so quickly, it's college, everyone is late."

She had a point, as adults, we all show up on our own time. That wasn't the point, though. I broke free from her only to have her grab my wrist and drag me quickly into the ladies bathroom in the same hallway. A girl inside walked out as we walked in, and with that, we were alone in the bathroom. She looked down at me as I folded my arms impatiently.

"I know we didn't get along before, but I'm honestly trying to help you, female to female."

I raised an eyebrow.

"I just think you should know a little bit more about Jack, and since I've known him longer than anyone, I thought I'd fill you in."

"I'm listening," I said. I didn't really care; I already decided I wanted nothing to do with him, and her for that matter.

"I don't want you to be hurt when you find out that you aren't the only girl he has. There's a new one almost every week, maybe even every night. I'm friends with some of his roommates, they can confirm this for you, and I was in fact one of those girls that went over every now and again for the same like. He just likes his girls. So don't be surprised if he doesn't want anything serious. I would know, it's a huge let down to your esteem when you find out the guy you like that you thought likes you back is only using you for what you have to offer him. He did the same to me."

I sighed, done with this conversation when it began, "can I go to class now?"

It seemed she was surprised by my lack of a reaction, and I took that as an opportunity to push past her, out the bathroom door, and to the lecture hall. Luckily, Professor North was a bit late himself and was attempting to quiet down the noisy hall, giving me time to slip into the back row unseen. Jack was up near the middle with some of his TZE brothers again. I was a little surprised when he waved at me. I pretended not to notice or see him and chose not to acknowledge his existence.

_You aren't the only girl. _Pitch's words ran through my mind and I had a hard time focusing. I felt like I was about to be sick.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, it hurt. It really hurt. I wouldn't doubt it if Pitch was lying, I was about 95% sure, but that other 5% seemed to tower over the odds. I was jealous. I didn't know what to think. It enforced my earlier decision to leave him be. If he wanted girls for sexual relations only, that was fine, but I wasn't going to let myself be one of those girls to him.

I was lost in thought when the green light on my phone began to blink. I had a new text from Jack:

J: Hey, you okay :/

E: Yeah, I'm fine.

I replied. I shouldn't have texted him back at all, but part of me couldn't help it. I still longed for his attention. I still hurt inside. It was my hope. I think that, after everything, I still had hoped Jack and I could be something more. Something serious.

J: You don't look or sound okay.

E: I'm fine.

Part of me felt excited that he was concerned, causing me further emotional confusion. _Pitch could be right though, he did try to booty-call me one night before. Hadn't he?_ My mind began to hurt and I was tired. I just wanted to hibernate; crawl in a hole and get away from everyone and everything. I wanted to tell Jack that I was upset that he lied about sleeping with me, that I was upset that Gaston did too. I was upset that my roommate hated me. I was upset that people thought I was something, somebody that I wasn't.


	16. Chapter 15

**So I decided to just keep things the same and try to update more often, whenever I'm allowed. I know it's annoying to wait too long and have to backtrack to remember what's going on in the story. Got some great reviews, especially the one from HopelessRomantic183. I love to see you all engaging in my text; it makes my heart super happy! Also, incase you are unaware, Sweet is the doctor in Atlantis: Joshua Sweet ;) keep the good stuff coming!**

Almost a month went by and nothing really changed. I left Jack alone and Pitch left me alone. Occasionally I would get a text from him, but the conversation would end up dead rather quickly. Megara forgave me for what I didn't do after her and Gaston broke up, and I spent most of time alone or with Sweet studying for midterms and other exams.

Anna fixed things with Rapunzel and befriended Merida after Hans supposedly dumped her too for also not putting out. Anna found another boyfriend, only this time she made sure that I approved first. It really made for an awkward Skype call.

His name was Kristoff and he went to a different school than she did. He was somewhat large with sandy-blonde hair and brown eyes and a kind smile. From what she told me, he was a football and hockey player, very shy and almost always alone like myself. He seemed nice enough, considering he had half the qualifications to be labeled a high school jock douche bag. His apparent values of respect lead me to believe he didn't care about his stereotype and was actually a fairly decent guy. They met at the supermarket a while ago and it remained an odd friend-like relationship that I supposed turned into romance. I just wanted her to be with someone who respected her.

Sweet and I began to hang out more frequently, so I wasn't completely alone, and even Wendy joined us at the library every now and again.

"I hope you know that Peter and I don't believe Gaston at all."

I looked up from my Core Humanities notes; we had a midterm Friday. I was a little surprised that old news came up, but I suppose she thought I would be offended if the rumor was still fresh in everyone's mind.

She laughed at my reaction, "I don't think Jack believes him either; people began spreading rumors because they heard you spent the night with him and he's been denying him, but no one will listen. We do though. After talking to you that night, I don't think you're really that kind of girl."

It was almost random for her to say, I decided I was over it all, but it wasn't really a bad thing to hear. I liked Wendy; she was a good friend.

"Thank you," I said, eyes wide. I didn't know what else to say.

"You bet she isn't one of those girls!" Sweet chimed in, "Elsa is really conservative. When I heard some of the gossip around here amongst the Greeks I knew it wasn't right."

I smiled up at Sweet. He had also fought and argued others, tried to shut up the rumors on my behalf. It was nice to at least have a few people to count on, who took me as who I really was.

I looked back at my notebook. _So it wasn't Jack's fault...But why didn't he tell me? And how did they spread so fast? Pitch. _I thought to myself, _it had to be her. _No one is a total hoo-hah and then tries to "protect" you from the guy that you're both after. Another person came up into my mind, _Megara._

I checked my phone. It was eight forty-five. She would still be up for sure.

"I have to go," I quickly grabbed my things, "thanks Wendy, Sweet, I'll see you two later!" And with that, I rushed out of the library and back to my dorm.

When I opened the door, Megara was sitting at her desk on her laptop.

"Meg, I'm sorry to get personal or whatever, but I have to ask, why did you and Gaston break up?"

She was a bit caught off guard, and I was too, by my abruptness. I didn't talk to her much, especially after the incident with the pepper spray. She turned around in her chair and looked at me, trying to find the right words to say. She still looked hurt, and I felt a little bad for asking.

"Sorry," I said, afraid that I had upset her.

"No, no," she moved a hand up her olive skinned shoulder, "I'm just thinking of exactly how it went."

I nodded and gave her a small smile as her green eyes rose toward me again.

"Okay, so do you remember the day that you came out of our room, after I got food for Gaston and I? I'm pretty sure it was the night after the party."

_How could I forget?_

"Well, as I'm sure you know, he told me that you made him sleep with you and that at the party the night before, that you were handing out your number and offering other guys sexual favors, and also that you slept with Jack. Obviously I was upset at the fact that he 'slept' with you, and that created a lot of issues for us, but I forgave him and things went on like they always did. Since then, as I'm sure you can imagine, I had a hard time trusting him, and the night before we split he left his phone here by accident."

She shifted uncomfortably before continuing, "I was curious so I went through some old messages of his. As it turns out, that day that he was in here, Pitch slept with him in exchange for him sleeping with you. I hope that made sense. At first he was only supposed to spread rumors about it, but he offered to actually do it with you and make them true. It didn't go according to his plan. Clearly. I couldn't keep him after I read that though."

"Why didn't you tell me?" My brain felt tingly; I was mad at the whole situation. I couldn't believe how horrible people could be.

"You just seemed so over Pitch and Jack and Gaston and all the drama that I didn't think it was something that you would care about. That, and I felt bad for assuming you would do something like that."

She looked down and sighed, "sorry I didn't tell you, its just ben hard."

"Don't be sorry, I totally understand," I was just glad to get a little more, okay a lot more, insight on the situation. I honestly wasn't surprised that Pitch was behind it all.

"Oh, and Jack, he defends the fact that you two didn't sleep together. Well, you did, but real sleep, not sex. I thought it was odd that Pitch and Gaston still kept spreading that rumor when their friend and TZE brother clearly stated that it wasn't true. It raised a red flag for me."

Now that was something that I liked to hear, and it was more powerful hearing about it for a second time. Jack may be a bad-boy, but he wasn't going to lie about something, or someone he didn't do. _Maybe he really does like me, _I thought, the anger that filled me slowly replacing itself with some lighter emotion.

"Thanks, Megara, sorry about you and Gaston."

"Oh, it's fine. I feel stupid now. He really is a douche bag."

"Love is blind I guess."

I smiled at her and she gave a small laugh, then I left her to her homework.

I laid in bed that night with only one thing on my mind: Jack Frost. _I'll text him tomorrow, _I told myself. I wanted to text him right there, at that very second. Excitement raged inside me as I closed my eyes and imagined us


	17. Chapter 16

The next day was Tuesday and I tried really hard to hold out until my 1pm Linear Algebra class before texting Jack. _If he doesn't reply, he's probably sleeping, _I reassured myself, _he isn't avoiding you._ I was glad I had no classes with him that day; I didn't want to feel obliged to talk to him in person.

He texted me back almost immediately which made my insides jump with excitement. I felt a lot better about talking to him since I figured out he wasn't so much of a jerk as I thought. We exchanged messages of small talk and I mentally hit myself for coming off as so boring. I snapped back to the lecture in front of me and tried very hard to focus on how to use LU matrix factorization but was worse distracted by my phone.

We texted until the end of my Core Humanities class, then he didn't reply for a half hour; then an hour; then another. I was starting to feel like a loser. Why couldn't I offer more than small talk? Why did I have to be so boring around him? _There's no way he's still interested me, _I sighed to myself as I finished up my time in the library that day. It was 7pm and just as I was saying goodbye to Sweet, my phone vibrated.

"I can tell on your face that scrawny TZE boy just texted you," he said matter-of-factly.

I blushed, "Jack isn't scrawny, he just doesn't hardcore build like you do!" He laughed at that. Sweet paid a lot of attention to his fitness (he is training to be a doctor) and stood at at least 6'2", extremely well built.

"Did you finally fix things with him, or is he still douche?"

"We're working on it," I said. _I think…_

I finished collecting my things and gave Sweet an awkward back hug. "He hurts you again, he dies," he said as I parted away and finally checked my phone.

"Yeah, yeah," I laughed at him, "catch you later."

J: Sorry, fell asleep, then a lot of guys came over and a fight broke out.

I face-palmed. _This is the guy I'm after._

E: Did you get hurt?

J: Nah, it was between Phillip and some Pi-Ep's. I just pulled it apart.

E: Nice haha

I didn't know what else to say and I wasn't surprised when he didn't reply. A few minutes later I kicked myself for ending it like that. _I could have kept it going by at least asking why they were fighting. _I left it, not wanting to come off as needy by double texting him. _Maybe he'll text me later. _I felt like I was wishing with all my heart and shoved my phone into the back of my desk when I realized id been checking it every five minutes.

After my work was finally finished and even more work for the next week done, I pulled out my phone again from the back of the drawer; still no message from Jack. My heart dropped a little, and I heard the sound of a key grinding a lock and Megara entered our room for the night. The clock on my microwave read 8:30pm, so I decided it would be best to take a shower and get ready myself, even if I would be awake for a few more hours.

I took a lot longer in the shower than I probably should have, enjoying myself in the warm water around me. The longer I took, the more likely I would come back to a text message form Jack, right? I knew it didn't work that way but it helped to appease my anxiety for the time being. I hoped he wasn't upset at me for ignoring and avoiding him for so long.

I dried my hair and dressed into my pajamas before heading back to my room and taking my contacts out. It was dark in the room and Megara was in bed, early as always, as I put my bath caddy away and climbed into my own bed. That was when I noticed that the green light on was blinking on my phone. I hastily opened my phone and forced myself not to roll around in excitement. I wasn't going to let him go again. I was serious about this.

J: We're finishing cleaning up after a kickback, did you want to come over and watch Netflix when we're done?

I thought carefully before replying. The last time this happened, I said no. "Netflix leads to sex," Sweet's voice echoed in my head, "and South Park…" I gave a silent laugh as I remembered his words. He was a character. I didn't have to let it go that far, get to that point. In fact, I didn't have to let Jack get anywhere if I didn't want him to. _I'm a good girl, and that, to me, means not sleeping or getting physical with someone you aren't dating, _I told and reassured myself. It was my choice.

E: Sure :) tell me when you're on your way

J: Will do :)

I quickly and quietly got up and changed into a pullover sweatshirt and a pair of nicer sweatpants than my pajamas and lastly threw on a pair of black and white lace up Vans. I lied on the top of my bed and put on an episode of Ghost Adventures to pass the time while I waited.

It was after ten when I finished the episode and started another, anxiety building up inside of me again. _Did he forget about me?_

Half way through the second episode I received another text:

J: Hey, sorry, on my way :)

I exhaled to calm my nerves and gathered my bag, heading down the stairs and out to the lobby to wait for him. No one was around to witness my slightly unkempt appearance and my almost sleep clothes, and I felt my stomach turn uneasily as I patiently waited for that silver Honda to its way through the driveway.


	18. Chapter 17

Jack pulled up about five minutes later and I felt my stomach summersault. I got up and made my way out the door and into his car. There was a quarter moon in the sky and a few traces of leftover winter clouds. It was a bit cold, but it felt like nothing compared to the icy weather the month before.

"Hey," I said, smiling at him nervously.

"Hey," he smiled back before putting the car into drive, "it's been a long time."

We drove about a block or two, "So how was your day?" He asked, and we continued with small talk similar to our earlier text messages until we got to his house.

It was dark when we entered. "Everyone want to bed early and Peter is at Wendy's." I nodded and followed him up the stairs into his room, then sat on his bed while he turned on his television and PlayStation.

_C'mon, Elsa, say something, _I fought with myself, _you're so awkward._

"What do you want to watch?" he asked, grabbing a remote and crawling onto the opposite side of the bed as me.

"Whatever you want, I'm not picky." I tried to look more relaxed by lying down. But I was pretty sure I just looked even stiffer. He turned on some comedy show as we lay in bed together.

I was finally beginning to relax when I felt a sharp prod in my side that caused me to jolt up and fold in half.

"Hey!" I said.

"What? Did that tickle?" he smirked and grabbed my waist, squeezing it gently and pulling me toward him. I laughed and flopped like a fish until he held me and let me catch my breath. After steadying myself I realized how close he actually pulled me and that we were in a spooning position. He put his arm around my waist and buried his head behind my neck.

"Elsa?"

"Mmm?" I turned on my back and faced him. He smelled a bit of alcohol and maybe some cigarette. _From the kickback, _I assumed.

He put his forehead against mine and looked into my eyes. It was dark but the light from the television left light dancing over his handsome features.

"Can we try this again," he whispered as he closed his eyes and leaned toward me.

It took me a while to realize what he was doing, but as soon as I did I pulled away, "Sorry, Jack. I cant," I said, "not yet."

"It's okay," he was quiet, "I understand."

It may just be a kiss, but what starts out as "just a kiss" has lead a lot further in my previous experience. I didn't want Jack to think I was that kind of girl when I wasn't, even if I really like him. _It's better to be safe than sorry._

We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before he tickled me again. He seemed upset about my rejection of him, but seemed to be okay with just my company.

He held me close again and smelled my messy hair, "I just like you a lot is all," he said, "I've wanted to kiss you ever since I first set eyes on you."

My insides fluttered a bit and it made my heart feel real good, "I like you a lot too, Jack," I turned to look into his eyes and ran a hand through his soft white hair, "I'm just not like that. Some people don't see it as a big deal, but it's important to me. Sorry."

He squeezed me and buried his head in my neck once more, stop apologizing," he laughed into me, "it's okay, that's why I like you. You're Elsa and you do what Elsa wants to do."

We talked over most of the entire show, until it was almost 2am.

"We should sleep now," he said, "I'll drive you home in the morning before class." He got off the bed, "hope you don't mind, I sleep shirtless," he said taking off his shirt. _No I don't, _I thought, again taking in the figure that I loved so much to see.

"Roll over," he laughed, "you're on my side."

I narrowed my eyes at him playfully, "and if I don't?"

He straddled me on the bed, placed his hand underneath the small of my back, and in one swift graceful movement rolled us over 180-degrees so that he was on his back and I was propped up on his exposed chest.

"There, we can share," he smirked.

"Fair enough," I said, resting my head on him. He was warm and smelled amazing, even if he did have a slight tinge of booze and cigarette on him.

"Goodnight, Elsa," he whispered, rubbing his hand up my shirt to rest it on the bare arch of my back. I closed my eyes and listened to the beat of his heart and took in the rise and fall of his breathing.

"'Night, Jack," I whispered back, but he was already asleep.

I woke up with a sore back. I was on the other side of the bed from him and his arm was underneath my midsection causing me the pain. I rolled over on my stomach and got up on all fours to stretch myself out. Jack was on his back and I assumed still sleeping, so I pushed my arms straight and stuck my butt into the air. I moved back to my original position and arched my back as severe as I could to further stretch it out.

"Wow, tease, now I wish you were that kind of girl." Jack was looking at me with his arms bent behind his head.

I felt myself blush, "I'm stretching, get your mind out of the gutter." I playfully hit him and he pulled me to rest on top of him.

"Kidding," he said, "Good morning."

"Morning," I mumbled back. Part of me liked the vulgarity of his comment, but I wasn't about to admit that to him.

He pulled out his phone; "you have an hour 'till class, so I guess I'll take you home."

I rolled off of him and got my things together as he put a shirt on. When we got back to my dorm he stopped me before I got out of the car.

"Hey, Spring Break is next week and Phillip's parents are letting us use their beach house, would you want to go? It'll just be some TZE's and maybe a few sorority girls and whoever the other guys decide to bring, but it's a big place. I wasn't sure if you were doing anything or not, but I figured I would invite you."

"Um, sure," I said, a little surprised. I was originally planning on going home to spend time with Anna, but I figured she would understand.

"Sweet!" his eyes lit up with excitement, "we're leaving Friday, I'll pick you up around six, if that works. It's for five days, and like I said, on the beach, so pack accordingly."

"Alright," I said, "I'm not imposing or anything?"

"Not at all!" He smiled big.

"I'll see you then I guess."

"Have a good day," he said.

"You too," I smiled back at him and shut the door. I couldn't wait to call Anna and fill her in on what happened and what was about to happen.


	19. Chapter 18

**So this chapter is shorter, and they wont all be like this, I just haven't felt like writing much lately. In regards to my previous question, a lot of people are telling me to make the chapters even shorter, which wasn't an option to begin with (I can't you enough information in a shorter chapter, I don't want my story to be like that), so I am keeping them roughly the same, if not a tad longer. Last note: I didn't want to make Elsa a virgin. Just because she's a "good girl" doesn't mean she has to be a virgin, she's 19 and experienced much of life, just not to the overly addicted state of most partying college peeps. Anywho, hope this going well for everyone. **

I called Anna after my classes and told her about how Jack and I were talking again and about spring break. I left out the spending the night part like before, because I didn't want my own sister to get any wrong ideas, especially after all the drama that went on the month before.

"How long will you be gone?" she asked.

"We come home Wednesday, so I'll just spend the rest of the week at home, if that's alright."

"Of course! I miss you! What are you going to wear though? All of your warm-weather clothes are here."

"That's where I need you. Can you ship me some of my swimsuits and beach stuff? I have a couple tank tops here, but other than that I only have what's leftover from winter."

"I'm on it," she sounded excited, "I'll ship you all the cute things you have! This is so fun!"

"Anna wait," I said, half sternly, "I'm only going to be gone for five days, so only pack for five days."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n," she giggled.

"Also, pack what I like, not just what you like. We have different tastes, you know?"

"I'll do it now and put a rush on the shipping," she said, "you can get anything else you need and bring your winter clothes back here when you're home. And don't worry, sis, I totally got this!"

"Thanks, Anna, I have to do homework, but I'll call you when my things arrive. Glad you're doing okay, and Kristoff too."

"Bye, Elsa, love you! Miss you!"

"You too," I smiled before hanging up.

_I'm so lucky to have Anna as help,_ I thought before grabbing my things and heading to the library.

My package arrived on Thursday, the next day as expected and like I also expected, it was larger than it had to be. I shook my head as a hauled the brown box up to my room. I took out my knife and cut the packaging tape and pulled the box flaps open. On the top was a note:

_Hey, sorry I wasn't sure so I packed more even though you said not to. I also put in some extras, just incase you went out and needed something nice. Love you! _

_XOXO Anna_

Underneath it were two nice dresses, both short, perfect for clubbing or a nice dinner, or something of that sort I supposed. Underneath them were a variety of tank tops, shear and short sleeved shirts. There were about five different swimsuits in there, as well as a couple pairs of shorts and even summer pajamas. At the bottom was a bottle of SPF 75 sunscreen, a face stick, and a few pairs of sunglasses. She also packed a beach towel and a large beach bag. I looked into the box again to see if I missed anything. There was something shiny in the corner, so I pulled it out. I was surprised to find it was a roll of condoms with a small post-it note stuck to it in Anna's handwriting:

_I don't know what you do in your spare time, but be safe. It was real awkward to buy these, and I hope you don't have to, but use them if you do. Still love you,_

_XOXO Anna_

Her rambling covered both sides of the small note and I put them into my wallet. I grabbed my duffle bag and packed pajamas, five shirts, three swimsuits, three pairs of shorts, a skirt, a sundress, one of the nice dresses, underwear, and anything else I needed besides the toiletries I would be using between the time being. The bag was a little full, but it all fit. I was leaving the next day, but I figured it would be best to pack early incase I changed my mind about what to wear.

I jumped onto my bed and lay down. _I hope Pitch doesn't go, _I thought, _or Gaston…_Aside from that, I was really excited to go, which I myself found surprising. I was nervous, sure, socializing and the thought of it always made me nervous, but I had a good feeling about this trip; it would be nice to get out, take a break from school, and relax for a bit.


	20. Chapter 19

**So last chapter was the last kinda "filler" chapter. From here on out, they're super long, so expect breaks between updates, I have lot's of school to do T.T LOTS of school. Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! **

6pm couldn't come soon enough. I had a really hard tome sitting through all four of my classes and was so excited that I was finding it hard to stomach food. Classes were out at four, which gave me two hours before I had to be ready.

_Why did I pack everything yesterday, _I thought to myself as I sprawled out on my bed. Megara wasn't in the room, but she had a suitcase of her own opened on the floor. She was going with her girl friends to some lake that was notorious for being a party spot.

I decided to channel my bored energy into something productive and took a shower. _Might as well start this break out looking good, right? _I took longer than usual, which was already a really long time, making sure my legs were smooth and everything else was nice and clean. I even conditioned my hair twice to make sure it would be soft and manageable later.

When I went back to my room, Megara's suitcase was gone, so I wasn't shy about shedding my dark purple towel and blue bathrobe. I looked at my pale, skinny figure in the mirror. _Thank God Anna packed the SPF 75, _I thought, _sunburn is not desirable. _I blew my hair dry and worked to make it perfectly straight before pinning the middle section of my bangs back and leaving the sides to hang around my face. I pulled the rest of my thick blonde hair into a high ponytail and clipped any fall out back, aside from what was covering my ears.

I primed my eyes and dusted a shimmery Champaign color onto my eyelids. I swept some gel liner up the top of my lash-line to make a bold cat-eye and finished with a heavy coat of mascara. I covered any blemishes with a light foundation and stepped back to examine myself, quite pleased with my appearance.

It was a quarter 'till six when I finished up and packed the last of my beauty products and toiletries in the sides of my duffle bag. _Now to wait. _I sat patiently on my bed, anxious, uptight and alert. I couldn't stop turning on my phone screen, praying that there would be a text every other second I checked.

I finally got my text message and rushed out the door. My bag was exceedingly crowded, but I'd rather carry one than more, so I didn't complain as I hauled it down the stairs across the lobby. Jack's car was in the driveway. When he saw me he got out of the car.

"Only one bag?" he smiled at me. He had a white and grey-stripped V-neck on, a pair of black skinny-jeans, and a dark grey Neff beanie. I nodded and he took it from me, "makes it easy for me."

I moved to the back right seat and opened the door to find Wendy sitting in the middle and Peter on her side.

"Hi, Elsa," she said, her smile brightening her blue eyes.

"Hey," I scooted in and buckled my seatbelt, "is he asleep already?" Peter was leaning against the window, eyes closed and mouth open.

Wendy placed her hand on his, "he worked a closing shift last night and I made him go to his morning classes, so he's been waiting for this."

"How long is the drive?"

"Four hours," the person in the front seat replied. He turned around in his seat and offered me his hand, "I'm Naveen."

He was tan with extremely white teeth and gorgeous golden brown eyes. He spoke with a faint accent that I couldn't quite recognize.

"Elsa," I said, pale hand firmly shaking his.

Jack made his way back into the car and we headed off.

"Where's Phillip?" I asked, "Isn't it his family's place we're going to?"

Jack spoke up, "they're taking a separate car, some other people are going too," he sounded displeased and I didn't feel like asking why for fear of him thinking I was being nosy or annoying.

Naveen answered my question for me: "Pitch is going and Jack doesn't like that. Now she is the definition of a basket case ex-girlfriend."

Jack exhaled and I looked down at my hands, "who else is going?" I asked, trying to break the silence. I only felt like more of a nuisance.

"Bunnymund, Gothel, and another girl named Ariel. Both the girls are Tri-Gammas and bunny is a TZE; so is Naveen here."

I nodded and Peter spoke up, "Gothel is Pitch's friend that poured the Gatorade on you at the gym."

I rolled my eyes, _great._

"What happened?" Wendy asked. Peter was back asleep, this time leaning on her shoulder.

I told her the story to which she responded disapprovingly, and the car became quiet. We had about three hours to go and I leaned myself up against the window and looked out. The sunset lit the sky up pink and orange. It was beautiful and my eyelids began to feel heavy. I looked over and saw Wendy resting on Peter, and heard Jack and Naveen talking to each other up front.

I wasn't sure if I was tired from my lack of sleep the night before, or if I was exhausted of excitement, but the second I closed my eyes, I was out.

I woke up to Wendy pushing my shoulder gently, "hey, Elsa, we're here."

I rubbed my eyes and got out of the car. In front of me was an extremely large, nice house. It may as well have been a modern-day castle. We were parked on a street lined with other houses of the same like. Each house had a large iron fence with a call box on a brick wall, one that Phillip was working out. Their car was behind us and I turned around to a beautiful sight.

There were no houses on the other side of the street, just open space. There was a brick retainer wall that dropped off a steep cliff and out in the distance was the beach. The ocean was black as the sky above it with the faint reflection of the waxing gibbous moon in the sky. _I love the ocean, _I thought as I was handed my bag.

The gate was opened and we walked up the long driveway to the mansion. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. There were crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, Persian rugs on the floor, and a spiral staircase. It had a vintage feel; very classy. There were large framed mirrors and pieces of art on the walls.

"The rooms are upstairs," Phillip said, gesturing to the staircase, "make yourselves at home."

We walked up the stairs. It was a huge shift of interior design, as the décor around us suddenly became modern. There was a long hallway that curved around and a balcony hallway that opened up to the living room below. There was a loft with a pool table and flat screen TV, and any game system you could imagine. The walls were plastered with movie posters and cabinets filled with hundreds of DVD's and Blu-ray's.

My bag began to weigh heavy on my shoulder. I started opening doors to find a room to stay in. Wendy and Peter were sharing a room with one bed in it. The other rooms, aside from the master bedroom, were double rooms, still large, with two beds in each. Phillip and Naveen were sharing a room, Bunnymund and Jack, and Pitch and Gothel, which left me to room with Ariel.

"I left you some drawer space," she said as I put my bag onto the bed I would be sleeping in. she was about my height with from-the-paint-tube red hair, thin lips, and bright sea-green eyes.

"Thank you," I said and began to unpack, "you're a Tri-Gamma?" I asked, gesturing at the purple pullover she wore with her letters sewn on the front. I didn't want this trip to be awkward, and it would be nice to have more than just one girl here like me.

"Yes, since my freshman year. Gothel is too, and so was Pitch, but she dropped it shortly after."

I closed the drawer I shoved my underwear in and she spoke again, "you're Megara's roommate, aren't you?"

I nodded; Ariel seemed friendly and outgoing.

"My cousin Hercules has the biggest crush on her," she giggled, "he was supposed to come with us, but bailed to go to the lake with her group of friends."

A rap on the doorframe interrupted us. It was who I assumed was Bunnymund.

"You gals want something to eat?"

He had mousey, dirty-blonde hair that was turned up in the front, and was very tall and slender. He wasn't skin and bones, more like lengthy and fit. He also spoke with a thick Australian accent.

"Famished!" Ariel got up and I followed her.

"You must be Elsa," he smiled at me and took my hand, "pleasure. Food is on the table. It's late, but we didn't make any stops, so 10:30pm dinner will have to do," he said as he escorted me down the stairs.

In the dining room was a long table with just enough chairs for all of us. After we settled down and began eating discussion came up about tomorrow and the rest of the vacation's agenda.

"Let's just chill on the beach all day and hit up a club at night," Peter proposed.

"That sounds good." Phillip said, "We spent today traveling, we may as well relax."

"Did you want to learn to surf?" Ariel spoke up, "maybe Sunday. My dad owns a surf rental shop, I can get us some boards for free and I can teach you."

"That sounds like fun," Jack chimed in.

"We have to go to the mall," Gothel said, "I don't care when, but er have to go."

"Is there anything that you want to do, Elsa?"

Everyone's attention was on me. My eyes went wide, "oh, no, don't worry about me, I'm easy."

Pitch laughed, "That's right, she is."

I ignored the comment and so did everyone else. Apparently she had invited herself along, according to Ariel, she was sucking up to Phillip. _Probably literally, _I thought to myself.

"We should all see a movie after the mall," Wendy clapped her hands, "and do a bonfire!"

"We can do that on Tuesday," said Naveen, "and there's a bonfire on Monday, it's on the beach."

"Well then, I think we're mostly settled," Bunnymund stood up, "I'm off to shower and get some shut-eye. Night, blokes!"

"Night," we all said in unison.

Wendy and Peter went to bed next and Jack too the seat next to me. "Sorry, I didn't get to really talk to you much. Are you alright?"

I nodded and smiled weakly at him.

"Good," he said, pulling me into a brief hug, "I was a little worried. I'm going to go the bed; I didn't get to nap in the car," he laughed and kissed me on the forehead.

"Night," I said as he got up.

I finished the food on my plate and began to take it back to the kitchen.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Phillip smiled at me, "we pay people to clean up after us."

"I don't mind," I smiled back and walked to scrape my dish.

I walked into the kitchen and started rinsing my cup.

"You won't win, Elsa," I turned around to face a frizzy, back-haired, green-eyed Gothel.

I ignored her and kept scraping the food off of my plate. She didn't like that and came closer to me. I was able to get a closer look at her face. She wore a lot of makeup. A lot. It cracked where the lines in her face were, making her look almost old.

"Trust me," she narrowed her eyes, "I know best, and best is to stay away from Pitch and what she wants."

I kept ignoring her still. I didn't want drama. I dried my hands and she gave a yank of my ponytail before exiting the kitchen. I say there alone for a few minutes to make sure she was gone.

It looked as if everyone else went to their own rooms, so I proceeded to do the same. Ariel was in the room wearing a fuzzy white bathrobe and her red hair wrapped in a white towel.

"Sorry," I said, walking in and grabbing my toothbrush and washcloth. She had perfect skin, and I will admit, I was a tad jealous.

"Oh, it's fine," she smiled and I left to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.

When I came back to the room she was in a light blue tank top and some pajama bottoms with fish and starfish on them. I pulled on my own black tank top and Hello Kitty patterned shorts.

"You really like the ocean, don't you?" I asked.

Her eyes brightened and she smiled, "Yes, I'm not from far from here. My dad was a professional surfer when he was young and he met my mom here working at one of the hotels he was staying at, fell in love, and settled down. He opened a surf riding company and rental and lessons program, so all of my sisters and I were pretty much born in salt water."

"Wow, that's really cute," I smiled at her.

"Can you surf?"

"No," I said, "I never really tried. I'm not very coordinated either, but I do love the water."

"You'll be fine, it's really fun," she turned the light off, "night, Elsa," she said.

"Night."

And with that, I fell asleep again, forgetting about everything negative, excited for the next few days to come.


	21. Chapter 20

"Elsa,"

I covered my eyes with my arm and rolled over.

"Elsa!"

I moaned and opened my eyes.

"Morning, Sunshine," and Australian accent boomed at me, "get up and get ready, we're leaving at ten."

He left the room and I checked my phone. It was 9am. _I can get ready in a half-hour, _I told myself, rolling over and falling back asleep.

"Elsa!"

It was Ariel this time.

"It's 9:30! Get up!" she sounded excitedly impatient.

I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth and swiped on some light makeup. My hair was fine; I just combed up all the fallout and readjusted my clip. I grabbed my favorite bikini and put it on. It was a light-blue bra-style bandeau with two lines of flat studs lining the top of the cups. It had underwire and a halter strap, and I paired it with some plain black bottoms. It matched my blue eyes and complimented my hair tone beautifully I thought.

"Morning, El—whoa," Jack walked into our room, "that's a really nice color on you."

"Thank you," I said, slipping on some cutoffs and a light blue, striped button-down that I left open. I felt myself blush, aware of how much of my skin he could see.

He pulled me into another hug, "ready to go?"

"Just need my bag," I smiled at him and he released me to grab it. I pulled out my large, brown sunglasses and put them on, "ready," I said.

Everyone was downstairs when we defended.

Naveen handed me a brown bag, "I made everyone sandwiches," he said, "Tiana is teaching me how to cook, I thought I'd start with something simple," he smiled bag as I took it.

"Ew, that Delta Theta from Louisiana? " Gothel scoffed.

"Hey, she's nice," Jack said, "So his her sorority sister, Charlotte."

_They must have been the girls in the library he said hi to when he asked me to the party months ago, _I recalled.

"Let's go," Peter said impatiently.

We all packed back into the two cars and drove down the hill to the beach.

There were a lot of people there, but we were able to find a spot and lay our towels out.

"You all make me look so dark," Naveen laughed as we stripped into our swimsuits.

I looked around. Jack, Pitch, Gothel, Peter, Ariel and myself were all extremely naturally pale, which didn't fit the summer setting around us at all. Phillip, Bunnymund, Wendy, and especially Naveen all had some color to them.

"Don't get burned," Phillip laughed, tossing Jack a bottle of sunscreen.

"Wendy, will you please?" I asked.

"Of course!" she began rubbing me down with the thick substance, "I'll make sure you're covered well."

After everyone was rubbed down we laid our towels out and Peter, Phillip, and Pitch went to play volleyball, while Gothel and Ariel played in the water.

Jack lay next to me wearing a pair of purple and grey Ray Bans and grey and black swim shorts.

"Working on your tan?" he asked, surveying my pale body.

I looked back at his, equally pale and lowered my sunglasses, "are you?" I said sarcastically.

"Hey," he laughed.

I laid on my stomach and rested on my folded arms. The sun felt warm against my back. I closed my eyes for a while, soaking up the energy of the atmosphere around me. I felt something strange on my back, like something was piling up on me.

I opened my eyes. Jack was pouring small amounts of sand on the small of my back.

I groaned, "Jack, what are you doing?"

"Let's build a sandcastle."

"How old are we, five?" I joked. I rolled over and tried to brush the sand off my back but some still adhered to the sunscreen.

"Well, now that you're up," he smirked and grabbed my wrist, pulling me up from my sitting position to a standing one and dragging me toward the shoreline.

Jack squatted in the sand and began to dig out what I assumed was a moat. I walked up to the edge of the water and took in the feeling of the cool wet sand between my toes. It was refreshing. The water crept up on me and was also cool, sending chills up my legs, but I was soon used to it.

"Elsa, get some wet sand," Jack yelled at me.

I bent down to scoop up as much sand as my skinny fingers could hold when I heard Jack whistle. I blushed and pretended not to notice, walking over to his mound in the sand higher on the shore.

"I thought it was supposed to be a castle, not a mountain," I laughed.

"It's a mountain-castle, geez," he gently punched my leg and pointed around it, "make some smaller towers around it while I fill the moat."

I obeyed and made smaller towers for the "mountain-castle" when I heard a soft clanking sound next to me.

"Here," it was Wendy and Ariel. They both came to me with small handfuls of tiny shells they collected.

"Thanks, I said, but they were already running back toward the water.

I finished my towers and added the shells when Jack came back with a stick puncturing a large leaf to use as a flag. We stepped back and surveyed our crummy "mountain-castle".

"Not bad," he laughed and grabbed my waist, pulling me in for a brief second and then releasing me again.

I looked over at him and he looked at me. When we held each other's gaze it was like time had stopped and we were the only two there on that beach. The only two until a third pushed me, hard, into our work. Pitch's volleyball game with Peter and Phillip interfered with our workspace, and she had pushed me out of the way to get the ball. I wasn't hurt, my landing was soft, our work was ruined, and half my body was covered in sand. It stuck to my sunscreen and I felt it in my bottoms and in part of my top.

"Oops," she said, smirking at me, ball in her hand.

"Are you okay, Elsa?" Phillip called out.

I gave him a thumb up and brushed off as much sand as I could to no avail. Jack came up from behind me and picked me up.

"Jack, what are you doing?" I asked as he began to walk faster toward the water.

"Helping," he said as he plunged my sandy body into the cold water.

It came up to just about my chest and I quickly rubbed off as much of the rest of the sand as I could.

"Can we go back now? It's cold."

He hugged me like before; "you mean you don't want to stay out here with me?" He gave a joking puppy face to me.

I looked back toward the shoreline. Pitch was looking at us, and I though I couldn't see details that far, I could have guessed that she had a disapproving look on her face.

"Alright," I said, smiling at him, "I guess a little longer."

We stayed out until Naveen began waving at us to come in. I didn't want to leave the water; at that point, we were completely wet and jumping over the incoming waves, but the way the sun was positioned showed that it was approaching late afternoon, and everyone was packing up.

Wendy met us when we came out, "it's almost four, we're going to go back to the house to get ready then eat and find a club to go to."

I nodded at her and began collecting my belongings. We made it back and I gave Ariel the shower first while I laid out my clothes and decided how to style myself.

Anna packed my favorite dress. It was beige and short with long lace sleeves that made my arms look thin. The shoulders had a small amount of ruffle to them and the back was half lace as well. The rest of the entire dress was made of a stretchy, clingy material that hugged my body tight. It was fairly low-cut, so I picked out a nice pushup bra that I brought to fill it out completely.

Ariel came back into the room, towel in her hair, "it's all yours!" she looked at the dress on my bed, "oh, it this what you're wearing? It's so cute! Reminds me of the sand!"

"Thanks!" I said, picking up my towel, "see you in a bit!"

I took a shower, washing the crunchy sea salt and sand from my hair. I checked in the mirror for sunburn when I got out and was overjoyed that I hadn't gotten one. Ariel wasn't in the room when I got back, so I got ready by myself, letting my bangs down and curling the rest of my hair to the side. I made a single, small blonde braid in the mess of my hair to avoid using an ungodly amount of pins to keep it to the side. I did my makeup a bit dark, and wore dark maroon-red lip-gloss. Right when I finished, I heard a quiet knock on the door.

"Wendy?" she was standing in a dark blue dress with a white bow around the waist.

"Can you please pin my hair? I can't keep it up." She was holding a handful of bobby pins and her dirty blonde hair was in a ponytail.

"Of course, come in," I pulled her over to the vanity and sat her down, "just a bun?"

She nodded, "everyone else is pre-gaming, but I don't drink, so I decided to spend extra time getting ready; now I'm frustrated."

I swirled up her hair, "I don't really drink either."

"I know," she said, "I'm glad you're here. Pitch and Gothel aren't mean to me like they are to you, but I really don't know anyone too well; besides Peter, of course."

Ariel walked in the door, "ready to go?"

I pushed in the last pin and gave Wendy's hair a quick spray, "that should do it."

"Thank you," she smiled at me then looked at Ariel, "you look beautiful!"

She really did. She had on a tight, pink and white strapless dress, and her hair was teased, leaving long red strands to curl down off her shoulders.

"Ready to mingle," she laughed, "let's go eat."


	22. Chapter 21

We went to dinner at a nice restaurant and then to a club that opened up on the beach. I took off my heels and shoved them into my bag, enjoying the sand between toes. I stood in the corner, music blaring around me.

Everyone was dancing except for me. I like to dance, don't get me wrong, I was just out of my element, and I wasn't sure if the dancing I did was any good. Pitch grabbed Jack the second we stepped in and I assumed he didn't want to be rude and push her off. Ok, so I hoped it was like that.

Wendy and Peter were dancing together, Gothel was sandwiched between Naveen and some other guy, Ariel had some guy on her, and it looked like a few others were waiting. Bunnymund was up against the fence talking to a girl of his own. I had no idea where Phillip went, but I assumed he was just lost in the crowd of people.

I was really out of my element. Pitch looked pleased at that, until someone actually approached me.

"Hey," a guy shouted over the music next to me. He was average of height with black hair, and brown eyes, and tan skin, "would you like to dance?" He smiled at me, and he really wasn't bad looking at all.

"Uh, sure," I took his hand and he walked me out to the floor.

I turned around and he grabbed my waist and we began dancing, or grinding, whichever you prefer to call it, to the music.

"I'm Ali, by the way," he said over my shoulder into my ear.

"Elsa," I replied back.

"Well you are very beautiful, Elsa."

I felt myself blush and I looked down at the sandy ground. The attention excited me. Ali stopped dancing and I broke apart to see what had interrupted him.

"May I?" A third voice spoke. It was Jack. Ali nodded and smiled back at me before walking away.

Jack took up his place behind me and grabbed my waist.

"Sorry, I would have danced with you sooner, but Pitch was being difficult." He still smelled like alcohol and his mood seemed irritated.

"Are you alright?" I asked, a note of worry to my tone.

His hands moved from my waist to my shoulders, flipping me around, quickly moving up to cup my cheeks. Before I could process what was going on, his lips were pressed firmly against mine. I tensed up at first, eyes wide in half shock, and then I felt my self relax as I gently closed my eyelids and kissed him back. It was like the world was gone, just as when our eyes met at the beach only so much more intense. I found it hard to breathe as he moved his hands back to my waist, pulling me closer to him, deepening the kiss even further. I felt myself become lightheaded and it felt like we were there for hours.

Reality snapped back to me when Gothel and her band of boys hit Jack from behind, causing him to fall forward, knocking me again into the sand. She pretended not to notice as Jack bent down to help me.

"Sorry," he said, "I couldn't stop myself."

I watched as his icy blue eyes wandered down my body and came to a halt somewhere in between. Everyone around me was staring too. I looked down at myself. When I fell my skirt was lifted and the entirety of my bright green VS PINK brand boy shorts were showing. The worst part was that there was sand everywhere.

I choked down tears as I pushed my skirt back down and stood up. Pitch had a smirk on her face and others around me snickered. _I must look so trashy_, I thought. _Short, tight, lace dress, falling over, flashing people…definitely trashy from an outside viewpoint._

I was grabbed tightly by my upper arm as my eyes were blurred with tears. I didn't let them spill. I was pulled out of the club and onto the beach. It was dark and I didn't care who took me away, just that I was able to get away. I tried as hard as I could not to cry, no to let the pooling water spill from my eyes, but when something soft made contact with my own lips, I shut my eyes and there was no stopping the warmth from rolling down my cheeks.

It didn't last nearly as long as the previous kiss, but it had affected me in the same way inside, nonetheless.

"Sorry again," Jack used his thumbs to wipe my face and he came into focus as my eyes were emptied, "are you okay?"

I nodded, "sorry, I usually don't cry." I felt my face turn red, "I must look like a mess."

He placed his forehead against mine and a hand on the back of my neck, "you look beautiful, Elsa; no matter what."

I couldn't help but smile.

"Elsa?" Wendy was calling my name. Jack and I turned to face her as she ran up to us, "there you are! It's hard to run in sand," she laughed, "are you alright?"

I nodded and she waved a hello at Jack, who was still holding onto me.

"I was going to head back home so Peter could spend time with his frat brothers, did you want to come with me?"

I looked at Jack, then at Wendy. I didn't want to go back into that club, I didn't want to face Pitch or Gothel, but I also didn't want to leave Jack. _Let him have fun, _I told myself, _he doesn't want to sit around babying you, just let him do his thing._

"Yeah, that sounds good," I told her, parting from Jack. We walked him back to the club entrance, and then about thirty minutes back up the hill to the house.

Wendy and I shared a few words of small talk and sat around the living room watching TV in our pajamas, eating nothing but junk food. It was a nice alternative to the previous activity, and I think Wendy appreciated it too.

It was 1am and they still weren't back, so Wendy and I both showered and went to bed. My mind was swimming with thoughts before I finally fell asleep: _He kissed me, so does he like me? Should I have let him kiss me? Is he out so late because he found another girl? _I was so exhausted, I didn't have time to dwell on my insecurities and I was soon in a deep, happy sleep of my own imagination.

**Hey, sorry, the last two words got cut off for some reason . not sure why, but any who, I'm trying to get the story finished, have a few more chapters that are written on paper, but since I can't continue with them (I'm not sure what direction to really take the story in at the moment) I'm not typing them up. If I type them too fast I get overwhelmed...And on top of that, I've started playing Dungeons and Dragons, which is super fun and distracting, so bear with me, I'm trying so hard! But I love you all, stay awesome and thanks for being so patient and supportive!**


	23. Apology

Hey everyone, I'd to apologize quickly, I've been so busy with school and friends I haven't been able to write much, and I ran out of paper, so I'm working there too. Since so much is going on, and I'm lacking inspiration for the story, It's probably going to be a little longer before I update, and it kills me! Thanks everyone for your patience, I'm trying to get more out ASAP! 


	24. Chapter 22

The next day started much like the first: getting ready and heading to the beach, only we made a detour along the way to Triton's Surf Shop. Ariel helped us size and pick out boards to rent, all free of charge.

The beach was conveniently out the backdoor of the shop, like the set up of the club the night before. It lacked the fancy lights and wooden corral, but it was a cute little shop.

"Here, Elsa, give me that," Jack grabbed my heavy blue and white board from me.

"Thanks," I said, handing to him, a bit relieved. I didn't have major biceps or lifting skills, and I packed a little bit more in my bag than I had the day before. We made it to an open spot and set up our things.

"Who wants to go first? I'll take you in twos, then one group of three," Ariel said, helping Phillip with his sunscreen.

"Elsa and I will go," Bunnymund volunteered to my surprise. He smiled kindly at me, "it'd be nice to get to know ya better; you're the only one I'm not so acquainted with."

I looked back to see if Jack minded, or would even react at all, but he had already run off somewhere else with Peter and Naveen.

"Well, some on then," Ariel laughed, "the water won't bite," she joked.

"But the sharks will," Bunnymund chimed in.

I grabbed my board and headed out toward the water with them. Ariel showed us hoe to paddle ourselves out efficiently, basic safety techniques, and what to do when the waves actually broke.

"Oh, here comes a good one!" she yelled in excitement, "Bunnymund, you got this!"

He had no problem catching and standing up on his board, gracefully carving up the wave. His tall, athletic body handled the board beautifully as he ran his hand through the water and sat back on his board when he was done.

Ariel clapped her hands vigorously as he paddled back toward us, "you've done this before!" She shouted at him.

"Surfing is all we do in Australia," he smiled and turned his attention toward me, "hey, Elsa, I've been meaning to ask you," he straddled the board, "are you Jack officially dating?"

Ariel's eyes widened and she leaned in, excited by the gossip, "you two are so cute together!"

I kicked my feet in the water below and sighed, "well, he didn't exactly ask me out, and we haven't talked much since last night…"

"Oh my, that's all he talked about when you and Wendy left, mate: you, nothing bad, of course—"

"He really likes you!" Ariel interrupted.

"We just want to make sure you're on the same page."

I looked down at my hands in the water. Did I like him? Of course I did, but did I like him as much as he seemed to like me? Or did he like me as much as I did him? _Should I be talking to his friends about this? _They were both staring intently at me, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, I like him too," I said at last, "I just don't know if he wants something serious or not."

"He doesn't do that very well, does he; being serious about girls, but you never know. You're a lot different than most females around him, so the fact that a girl like you is here at all is a bit odd. Well, not odd, but you get the jest."

"It's been a long time since I've had a relationship," I said, thinking back to my time in high school, "and with all my studies and everything…plus I heard that Jack's kind of a player…"

Ariel giggled and nodded, "this is true."

Bunnymund spoke up again, "he likes his girls, they help him to relieve stress and it's fun for him, but if he finds that you're worth it, he'll throw all of that aside. Trust me, mate, I've known him a long while."

"You didn't get to try to surf yet!" Ariel exclaimed, changing the subject dramatically, "stop talking to her, here comes a wave! Remember what I told you, Elsa!"

I paddled out and waited until it felt like a good time to stand up. I was surprised at how easily I got up and tried to relax to hold my balance. I wasn't nearly as coordinated or graceful as Bunnymund, but I was glad I had gotten myself up at all. Mu ride didn't last as long as his either, but I was proud I didn't fall or worse, hurt myself on my run.

"Good job, not bad for your first round, you two bring out two more of the others and you can come back later if you want. We wasted all our time talking about Elsa's love life."

We made our way back to the shore and Phillip and Naveen went out into the water with their boards next.

"How was it?" Peter asked.

"Fun," I smiled at him, "tricky."

I lied on my towel next to Jack's.

"You looked good out there," he said.

"Thanks," I put on my large, brown sunglasses and pulled out the book I brought, one of my favorite novels, and opened it up.

"Do you ever stop reading?" he moved my hair over my shoulder, "Oh! I got you this." He handed me a cup filled with white, sloshy liquid and what looked like red strawberry sauce on the top, "it's a lava flow, but don't worry, no alcohol."

On the rim of the cup was a pineapple slice and inside was a single cherry. "Thank you, Jack," I said, grabbing the cool plastic cup from him and taking a sip before placing it next to me, "these are mine and Anna's favorite."

He smiled at that, "so what's your book about?"

"It's about vampires, but not like Twilight; it actually has a substantial storyline."

The book was called Vampire Academy, and I proceeded to tell I'm about the stories two main characters and their relationship, what made this story so unique to me (teenage dramas are something I usually pick up) when something cold and wet fell down my face. Pitch had spilled her red strawberry daiquiri all over the front of me. _What is up with them and pouring liquids on me? _I thought as I wiped the sticky, icy substance. It was petty, immature, and completely uncalled for. She kept walking, ignoring the situation altogether.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, brushing some of the slush off of my cheek. I looked down at my book. Red seeped through the pages, staining them and causing them to warp.

"Hey, you ruined Elsa's favorite book!" Jack yelled at Pitch.

"Who? Me?" she exaggerated then smirked, "Oh, I am so sorry, I'll take you back to get cleaned up right away."

I was furious. I'm not a fighter, it takes a lot to really upset me, and I enjoy a somewhat passive life, but hell, I was about to change that.

"Just stop." Jack spoke up again, "I don't understand what you have against her; because she 'took me from you'? Maybe if you were actually not awful I'd want to be with you."

Pitch's jaw dropped slightly, and mine was practically on the floor. I wasn't expecting him to stand up for me at all. He handed me a clean towel and closed my book, "I'll take her home."

"No," I said, "I'm fine. Phillip and Naveen are coming back in from their lesson with Ariel, you should go out I'll rinse myself off and go for a swim." I didn't want to be a nuisance and ruin his day by cutting it short, "don't worry about me."

He gave me a weak smile and nodded, then grabbed his surfboard and headed out.

"What happened?" Phillip asked, walking up to our spot, examining the spill on my towel and the sand around it. My pale blonde hair had strips of red in it.

"Nothing," I said, making my way toward the water, "just an accident."

I reached the saltwater and didn't hesitate to plunge myself under. It was as if the cool of the water put out the fire of anger inside of me. I didn't want to get out. I sat under the surface, wishing I didn't need air; that I could lay in the sand and ocean forever. Jack made me feel better, but the thought of Pitch guarding him made me feel so much worse.

I came up for air and floated on my back with my eyes closed, letting my body move up and down with each wave that passed. I loved it, almost as much as I loved being in the snow.

I was pulled out of my trance when something solid hit my shoulder.

"Sorry," a voice above me said. It was Jack on his board. I climbed up on it and straddled it like he was, facing him. "Sorry about Pitch," he said, "I'll talk to her tomorrow night at the bonfire. I figure it'd be best for me to avoid her while I'm still heated. I never get mad, but she threw me off the edge this time."

I didn't know exactly what to say. It was my fault that she was so mean, wasn't it?

"Sorry," I said. My reaction to everything, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have come. I'm like a catalyst for her actions."

He shook his head, "it's not your fault, you haven't done anything to her. She's mean because that's who she is. You're just being yourself and she's just being herself. She hates me more than she hates you, I can promise that."

He looked up at me, keeping his face down and cracked a half smile. His hair was wet and stuck together by the saltwater, and he still looked handsome as ever. I smiled back at him then slipped off his surfboard back into the cool water, "I'm going to stay here a while longer." He nodded and paddled back to the shore.

The rest of the day mainly consisted of me and Jack avoiding Pitch. I lied low and kept quiet, speaking only when I really had to. We stayed at the beach all night, until we finally drove ourselves back to the estate. As fun as the day started out, I went to sleep upset and confused as ever.


End file.
